


Fighting for Our Lives

by lilacsandstars



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Cedric Diggory is an Idiot, Character Death, Draco Malfoy is Bad at Feelings, Draco Malfoy is a Little Shit, F/M, Funny, The Golden Trio Era (Harry Potter), angsty, based on thedraconiancult tiktok story, but not enough to be like “oh tw!!”, but not rly bc love him, but only if u squint, ceddy is in danger guys, draco malfoy x reader - Freeform, dw it’s not an important character, enjoy the emotions, hints of traumatic experiences, homie literally murders his own fam member, intense feelings, just bc they’re kinda random and not normal at all, mega slowburn, minor reader x george, soft, weasley twins are y/n simps, y/n is officially over it, yes i’m draconiancult, yknow wizard things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:07:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 23,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29322906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilacsandstars/pseuds/lilacsandstars
Summary: this is draconiancult on tiktok's official story!! yes, i am draconiancult___________________Y/N Y/L/N hated Draco Malfoy. Draco Malfoy hated Y/N Y/L/N. Now she has to tutor him and face trials with his never ending ignorance and egotistical behavior. After the trial and error of friendship, jealousy, and psychotic aunts, where will this take them?___________________DISCLAIMER: i do not own any of the harry potter franchise's characters, nor do i own the storyline given in j.k. rowling's books or movie series.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Reader
Kudos: 5





	1. It Wasn’t Me This Time

**Author's Note:**

> this was a text story, now it is in story perspective to give you the full experience of what exactly was going on in better detail!!!

Y/N was sprinting down the hallway to get to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Her three best friends. Her head was pounding. Her blood was rushing rapidly through her veins, and it was making her lightheaded. She was confused. She was bewildered. There was no way that had just happened.

She zipped around the library doorway and speed walked to the Golden Trio's table, having slowed her pace so she wouldn't be shouted at by an adult. She sat down with her eyes practically bulging out of her head, and the three looked up at her worriedly.

"Anything you'd like to say?" Harry asked, one of his brows quirked. Y/N felt her fists clench as she nodded rapidly.

"We have a mega problem-o," she whisper-shouted. The three looked at one another curiously, then back to the girl.

"What'd you do?" Hermione asked inquisitively. Y/N rolled her eyes in exasperation and shook her head.

"You say that like I'm the one who causes problems all of the time," she grumbled. Honestly, the nerve of her friend.

"Y/N, you hexed Snape," Ron spoke slowly, looking at her in disbelief. "Nothing would surprise us at this point." The girl felt her face scrunch at the mention of Professor Snape. She narrowed her eyes at Ron threateningly.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she mumbled. "Anyway, the problem is that I _didn't_ cause it this time." The trio's eyes simultaneously widened at her, and she nodded, her lips pursed tightly.

"That's kind of hard to believe," Harry spoke quietly. Y/N smacked his upper arm frustratedly and pouted slightly. Honestly, how dare he call her out like that! He had no room to talk when his attitude was hardly tolerable.

"You're such a fucking bully," she groaned. He smiled sarcastically and she rolled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time that day. Gosh, they were all oddly pissy today.

"And you're such a pain in the ass," Harry fired back. Y/N gasped and whacked him once again, him scooting his chair away from her in response.

"You love me," she spoke as she leaned back into her chair. The three others smiled and laughed lightly.

"Obviously," Hermione giggled.

"Wouldn't wanna be anybody else," Ron sing-songed.

"Way too much," Harry sighed.

Y/N loved these three dimwits.

"Ron, I love you and that response," she mentioned as she pointed at him. He smiled proudly, his chin raised in the air. "Anyway, Malfoy sent me a letter." The three immediately tensed and whipped their heads in her direction, their expressions now covered in shock.

"Malfoy _what_!" Ron whisper-shouted. Y/N saw the intense look in his eyes. She knew he probably hated Malfoy worse than anyone she knew. Malfoy had constantly insulted Ron's upbringing and his mother. That was unforgivable.

"The boy did what?" Hermione asked sharply, her voice laced with anger.

"When," Harry demanded through clenched teeth. "Where. What. Why. How." Y/N felt her skin prickle at Harry's pure resent.

"This morning," she sighed. "When the owls brought in letters. I got one. From him. I read it in the bathroom so no one would be suspicious and it was...odd." She grabbed the parchment from inside her robes and handed it over to Harry.

Hermione and Ron leaned over to peer at the letter and read it. They sat in silence, and it felt like forever. Y/N sat with bated breath, her chest tight. They were going to blow a fuse and she knew it.

They finally looked back up at Y/N, their eyes wide and their jaws dropped.

"So," she dragged, "you guys read it." The three blinked and nodded curtly.

"Yeah," Harry said harshly, "and I'm extremely McFucking confused." Y/N snorted slightly and nodded to cover up her amusement.

"Language, Harry," Hermione mumbled. Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head, clenching his teeth. Y/N watched his jaw flex in anger.

"Well," Y/N said angrily, "what do I do, you nimwads!" They looked back to her, then at one another, and sighed.

"Ignore him, burn the letter, and move to China," Ron told her seriously. Harry and Hermione both raised a brow that said 'are you serious?'

"No!" Hermione punched Ron in the shoulder, him wincing and rubbing the spot. He was probably bruised there, considering Hermione tended to hit him there a lot.

"Yeah, no!" Harry told Ron, matching him with a confused look. Ron raised his hands in mock-surrender and Y/N laughed quietly.

"That's smart," Y/N pointed out. Hermione and Harry glared at her, making her stand up straight. "I mean no!" They smirked and Y/N laughed out loud this time.

"Look, Y/N," Hermione began, leaning forward to make their conversation quieter, "go see what the hell he wants. Then you can avoid him for however long you want afterward. If he tries to confront you about anything and make you uncomfortable, we can all handle him." Y/N smiled gratefully and nodded.

"Thanks for that, 'Mione," Y/N said softly, "but I think this needs to be handled by yours truly." The three nodded respectfully, and Y/N send a small smile to them.

"I will not hesitate to have Fred and George make his room a firework show if you change your mind," Ron said authoritatively. Y/N huffed a laugh. Although she hadn’t met the twins yet, from Ron’s stories, they seemed absolutely crazy. And magnificent. 

"I'll remember that Ron, thank you," she replied. He simply nodded and smiled back at her. Harry sat in a tense silence, and Y/N gave him a harsh stare. "No, Harold, you're not allowed to spy." He snapped his gaze to her and glared.

"My name is not Harold and I wasn't going to spy!" he retaliated. She rolled her eyes and fixed him with a disbelieving look.

"One," she began, "lie. Two, a lie. Three, goodbye." She stood from the table and smirked at Harry.

"Goodbye, Y/N," Hermione waved. "Be careful, okay?" Y/N walked over behind Hermione and wrapped her arms around her neck, hugging her. She did the same with Ron and Harry.

"Of course," she said whilst she bade them goodbye. She waved over her shoulder and she walked with a new confidence out of the library.

"Well this is going to end awfully," Ron sighed as Hermione and Harry nodded in agreement. Y/N sure was in for it. 

* * *

Y/N began her trek to where the letter said to meet: The last abandoned classroom on the left down the right hallway from the prefect's bathroom. She finally made it and walked inside. 

"Hello?" she asked carefully. No response. "Where the hell is he?" She began to grow irritable. He probably had left her there to be caught by Filch or something.

As she looked around the classroom, an owl suddenly flew through a large window. It flew directly to her and dropped a letter into her hands. She opened it in confusion and began to read it.

_Y/L/N,_

_I'll be there in a second. I had to tend to something really quickly. Don't leave. This is important._

_Draco Malfoy_

"Gotcha," she mumbled to herself. Of course he was late to his own calling. Merlin, she hated him. Why was he such a pain in the ass?

After around ten minutes of sitting alone in a dark, cold, abandoned classroom, a figure finally entered the room. And thankfully, it was him. What? She didn't want Filch to find her.

"I see you're still here," he mentioned with a smirk. Her face fell and she slumped in the desk she was sitting in.

"I see you're late to your own meeting," she mumbled. He scowled at her and rolled his eyes. She stood from the desk and flattened her skirt, sighing at the anger she already had in this moment.

"Let's get to the point so we can leave this quickly and get this over with," he growled. "I need a tutor for Herbology." She scoffed and looked at him with sheer amusement.

"You?" she asked with a laugh. "Draco Malfoy? You need a tutor?" He sneered at her and walked forward angrily.

"Yes," he looked her up and down in disgust. "You won't tell a soul, either. You're top of the class, so I'm asking you. I don't want people looking down upon me for getting help from a sickly individual like yourself." Y/N felt her heart grow cold. She knew Malfoy had a tongue, but she hated hearing things like that. It made her blood boil and her vision swim. Almost like she was going to go feral on him. 

"Look who's talking!" she shouted at him. His face grew red with anger and he stepped into her space, practically growling at her.

"You will agree," he threatened. "I'm not going to fail." She shoved him backward, her entire body felt as if it were on fire. _Shut up, shut up, shutupshutupshutup._

"We'll see about that," she hissed. His eyes were brimming with fire, hers returning the same intensity.

"Just agree and you won't have to deal with any pestering from me," he said exhaustedly. She felt another insult on the tip of her tongue, yet she composed herself.

"Fine," she groaned. "Only because I can't handle you being so fucking annoying." He smirked proudly and turned on his heel. His ego was practically leaking out of his pores. 1. Gross. 2. Gross.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Y/L/N," he grinned. "I'll see you around." She gritted her teeth and shook her head as she crossed her arms. Nope, time to leave, gotta head out now.

"I'm not counting on it," she growled as she pushed past him, storming out of the classroom and back to the common room. She couldn’t bear to be in the same room as him for another second without wanting to shove him into a broom closet and leave him there for about a month.

_Wait until I tell them about this,_ she thought angrily. Ron's advice really was beginning to sound incredibly smart. And incredibly pleasing. 


	2. Meet the Masterminds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> !NEW CHARACTERS UNLOCKED!
> 
> George Weasley - fling??
> 
> Fred Weasley - ...fling??
> 
> no shame ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hehe i love the twins

The girl was fuming as she walked back to her dorm. It was already time for bed, seeing as she was held up in that musty classroom for the entire dinner. She snuck back into her dorm, rather angrily, and found herself too angry to get any sleep.

_What was his deal?_

Surely, someone wasn't born that rude.

After constant lingering thought about it, she finally found herself drifting off to sleep.

* * *

She woke slowly, her muscles slightly sore from falling asleep tense. She stretched and stood, going to the bathroom to shower and change into her uniform and robes. 

_I have to find those three during breakfast,_ she thought as she gathered her things, rushing to the Great Hall in order to have time to speak to them.

As she ushered herself down the hallway, she almost ran into Malfoy, who had just walked out from a hallway to her left.

"Watch where you're going!" he spat. She sneered at him and flipped him off, then continued on her merry way to her destination.

Once she entered the Great Hall, she immediately found sight of the three. She sped over to them and sat down quickly, her books thudding onto the table.

"I talked to Malfoy," she heaved, out of breath. Their eyes were still wide, Ron's filled with sleep, and he was lazily munching on a biscuit. "Ron, I'm going to take you up on that offer." He raised a quizzical brow and stopped mid-chew.

"To get my brothers?" he asked through a mouthful. Y/N laughed and shook her head.

"No, even though that does sound pretty fitting," she chuckled. "I meant to move away to China." The three snorted and shared small laughs at Y/N's dramatics.

"What happened, Y/N?" Hermione finally asked. The girl sighed as she prepared to begin her rant.

"He said he needed someone to tutor him in Herbology," she began, "and that he knew I was top of the class so he decided to ask. He told me he didn't want to tell anyone because he didn't want people to look down on him for getting any sort of help from a sickly individual like myself."

Harry was positively fuming. Hermione's face was scrunched in complete anger. Ron's brows were furrowed in both confusion and anger as his biscuit slowly dropped from his fingertips and onto the table, which he paid no mind to. They just stared at Y/N for a moment.

"He what?" Harry asked coldly. Y/N felt her face heat from hearing his tone.

"I'm calling George and Fred right now," Ron grumbled. He went to stand, but Hermione grabbed his robes and pulled him back down.

"Boys, calm down," she scolded them. "I bet the real reason he doesn't want anyone to know is because doesn't want them thinking he needs help." Harry scoffed and Ron stuck his tongue to his cheek.

"That does sound like Malfoy," Y/N tried to reassure them. The boys still wouldn't look at the two girls. Harry sighed loudly.

"If it's not true then I'm breaking his nose," he commented dryly. "And if it is true? I'm still breaking his nose." Y/N smiled as she looked down, trying to hide it.

"No, that won't be necessary, Harry," she finally managed to say without cracking up. "It's like I told you yesterday, I can handle his bullshit." Harry shrugged and slumped again, picking at the food on his plate.

"Please punch him," Ron spoke through a fake smile. Y/N laughed and nodded.

"I literally have thought about that," she mentioned humorously. Ron smiled and Harry grinned. Hermione was oddly silent with a mischievous look on her face. Y/N looked at her curiously, and the girl smirked.

"Do it publicly or it didn't happen," she said deviously. Y/N laughed loudly and nodded in agreement.

"You got it," she told her friend. Harry and Ron laughed along, and the three continued having mindless conversation until they had to head off for class.

* * *

Y/N was minding her own business, on her way to Herbology (here we fucking go), when a pale hand pulled her by her robes to the empty hallway opposite of the way to her classroom. 

"Hey!" she shouted, but her pursuer snapped their fingers in her face, making her hush. She then met eyes with Draco Malfoy.

"So when are we meeting for the first time?" he asked her exasperatedly. She shrugged and slumped against the wall.

"I don't know," she replied dully. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Say, tomorrow after lunch? In the library?" he asked. Y/N shrugged again, adjusting her robes since he had yanked them out of place. Did everything he ever do have to be so infuriatingly inconsiderate? 

"Fine by me," she answered shortly, then made to walk away, but he pulled her back again. She groaned inwardly and turned to face him.

"You sound incredibly pained by having to do this," he spoke with a large smirk plastered on his face. She crossed her arms and furrowed her brows at him.

"Ever think to consider that I probably am?" she countered. His face fell and he grimaced at her. She probably should not have said that, but damnit, let a girl cover herself for once.

"Watch your mouth," he hissed. "I can and will ruin your image." She laughed haughtily and brushed him off.

"Whatever, Malfoy," she replied under her breath. He growled and snapped in her face again, making her look up with a scowl.

"One more smart remark," he said with his lip practically curled back, "and I'll have your parents taken off the Ministry." Her eyes widened as her form straightened. He smirked victoriously and leaned backward, satisfied.

"You wouldn't fucking dare," she retorted. He raised his brows, tempting her, and showed a toothy grin.

"Want to find out?" he asked quietly. She growled loudly in frustration and and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Fine!" she exclaimed. "Truce. For my parents." She held out her hand, offering it for him to shake. He grinned wickedly at her, his eyes glinting something cruel in his irises, sending a nervous shiver down her spine.

"So self-sacrificial," he cooed sarcastically. "How sweet of you, Y/L/N." She felt her blood rushing in her ears as she tried to contain her anger, which was slowly boiling.

"My pleasure," she gritted out. He finally took her hand, a huff of a laugh coming out, as he firmly shook it. She ripped her hand from his after a moment, and stormed back to the classroom she had been heading to.

God, what a prick.

* * *

After Herbology, which was her last class of the day, Y/N bursted into the library to find Harry, Hermione, and Ron. They typically always spent the end of their day in the library. Hardly anyone was there, so it only made sense to get some peace and quiet. 

She angrily flopped into the open chair at the table they were sitting at and they looked up at her in shock.

"You do that a lot, you know," Harry commented, and Y/N stuck her tongue out at him, making Hermione laugh.

"That fucking hoe," Y/N gritted out, giving Harry’s comment no verbal response. The three of them looked at her curiously.

"What happened?" Harry asked quickly. "What the fuck did he do?" Y/N felt her face heat from the mere mention of the asshole. Her blood literally boiled when she thought of him.

"He threatened to have my parents taken out of the Ministry!" she bursted, her hands wringing in anger. Hermione took them and held them, offering some physical support. Y/N sent her a small smile in thanks, which was returned.

"Okay, no more messing around," Hermione spoke sternly after a moment. The two boys nodded and they all shared intense looks.

"Don't worry," Ron said confidently. "I have the perfect solution for this." He looked off somewhere else, waving, but Y/N paid no mind since she was too angry to even look up from the table.

Soon, Y/N heard two chairs placed opposite of her, on either side of Hermione. She still couldn't look up. Until they spoke, at least.

"Wicked," they said in unison. Y/N looked up to see identical gingers. They were at least two grades ahead of them. They locked eyes with Y/N and the girl immediately knew who they were.

"Your brothers?" she said plainly. "They're the solution?" The two boys in question beamed, and Y/N laughed.

"Ronald, what is this going to help?" Hermione asked, removing one of her hands from Y/N's to run at the space between her eyebrows. 

"One word," Ron grinned. " _Fireworks_."

"I'm not even opposing anymore, I love that idea," Harry laughed. Y/N rolled her eyes and Hermione scoffed. The twins just continued beaming proudly.

"That would increase the risk of my parents getting kicked, though," Y/N pointed out. The twins shared a look and leaned forward to look at Y/N.

"Who said he has to know—" one began,

"—It was us?" the other finished. Y/N smiled and shook her head.

"And how exactly are we going to pull that off?" she asked with a small smile.

"Just leave it to us, beautiful!" one said with a large smile. Y/N noticed that he was rather...attractive.

"We've done this loads of times!" his brother spoke directly after. It was no use in hiding the fact that they were identical attractive twin brothers, but Y/N did find the one who called her beautiful a lot more intriguing.

"Should we really trust this?" Hermione asked with a sigh. Y/N shrugged as she looked back down at the table.

"I don't know, Hermione," she replied. "I have no clue." Y/N looked over to see Harry scribbling on a piece of parchment, it being titled "Sabotage 101: MALFOY".

"Harry, are you bloody serious?" she asked with an amused chuckle. He looked up with a cheeky grin and shrugged happily.

"What?" he laughed. "Are you going to tell him or something?" Y/N scoffed, her jaw dropped.

"No, idiot, you're just childish," Hermione retorted playfully. Harry scoffed at her, crumbling up an extra piece of parchment and tossing it at her as he mumbled "bitch".

"I found it rather funny," the other twin remarked. Ron fixed Y/N with a proud look and grinned.

"Admit it," he exhaled as he leaned back in his chair. "It's more fun with them here." Y/N smacked his arm and he yelped in pain.

"Shut the hell your mouth," she mumbled. He laughed and she looked back down at the table.

"Well, whilst we're here and acquainted," the twin Y/N found an interest in spoke up, "we best introduce ourselves." The other twin nodded as they sat up straighter.

"I'm Fred!" the other twin said as he shook hands with Y/N. "The more attractive half of the Weasley twins!" She laughed and nodded at him.

"Y/N," she returned. "And, while that was very smooth of you, I beg to differ." She blushed as Hermione gasped. Fred's face was brimming with positive glee as he teased his brother for his red face.

"George," the other said nervously as he extended his hand. "Wonderful to meet you." She accepted it, their shake lingering longer than hers and Fred's had.

"Y/N," she replied. "You know that, though." He smiled and they took their hands back, Y/N feeling wildly flustered.

"I think I'm going to throw up all over the table," Harry groaned as he slammed his head onto said tabletop. Y/N laughed at him and ruffled his hair playfully while he swatted at her hand.

Weasley twins and fireworks, huh?

Useful.


	3. Runs in Their Cold Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sometimes bad blood really does exist. doesn’t it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m actually v proud of this book 🥲

So there the six of them sat, happily chatting and laughing in the library. They tried and failed to control their volume, and after a while, stopped trying to conceal it as much. Y/N was sporting an ear-splitting grin and her cheeks were flushed from the exertion of laughing.

"—And then Freddie here turned Angelina's perfume into troll boogers!" George laughed. The table burst into laughter again, and they quieted down, wiping tears from their eyes and breathing heavily.

"Quick question, Y/N," Harry started, his tone very solemn, "sorry to kill the mood. Why did Malfoy even threaten to have your parents kicked in the first place?" Y/N slumped a little and her smile curved into a frown.

"I had an attitude and he didn't like it," she replied tiredly. Malfoy really was going to drive her to commit murder.

"Aw, poor Malfoy," Fred crooned sarcastically.

"Little bloke can't even handle a taste of his own medicine," George rolled his eyes as he mumbled. Looks like the twins despised that boy as much as the rest of them did.

"A shame, isn't it?" Ron chuckled.

"His entire existence is a shame," Hermione deadpanned, her eyes lidded dangerously. Harry choked on air and coughed as he laughed.

"Come on, now," Y/N found herself saying, "don't be so shallow." She was shocked with her own words, yet she felt they needed to be said. "Surely there must be a reason behind his...Draco-ness."

"Do _not_ tell me you're taking up for him," Harry laughed dryly. Ron was looking at her with disbelief.

"Draco _bloody_ Malfoy?" he managed to say through his shock. Y/N shrugged defensively and crossed her arms. Everyone had their reasons, didn’t they? For everything?

"Hear me out," she began. "What's all of his attitude for? No one's just born that way." George sighed and leaned forward onto his elbows, making eye contact with Y/N. His eyes were really pretty.

"I'm afraid Malfoys are," he told her. His lips pursed into a thin line, letting her know just how serious he was.

"Runs in their cold blood," Fred remarked, sounding rather snarky. But Hermione looked very open to this fact.

"Maybe Y/N's right," she said honestly. "Think about it. All the times he's struggled to do certain rude things. Every time he managed to actually be rude it was because his ego was bruised." The rest of them sat for a moment, processing Hermione's words.

"So what made it so sensitive?" Y/N asked quietly, more to herself than the others. Harry had another pinched up expression, his eyes swirling with mischief. Y/N knew that look.

"Yes, Harry," she groaned, "you can spy now." Hermione coughed and raised her hand jokingly.

"We," she corrected. Ron snapped his fingers sassily, which made Y/N and Harry snort, and he smirked.

"What Hermione said," he said confidently. Y/N grinned giddily and lightly smacked her palms on the tabletop.

"I'll start some snooping tomorrow when we meet," she said, biting her lip. The six of them all smirked darkly and nodded in unison.

"We've said it before," George began,

"—And we'll say it again!" Fred continued.

"Wicked," the two of them chorused. Y/N laughed and felt her cheeks heat from the action again. She actually was really glad Ron introduced his brothers. They were a lot of fun.

* * *

Y/N was walking down the hallway, making her way to the Great Hall for dinner, when she ran into Malfoy. Why was it that she always ran into him?

"I was going to apologize but now, on second thought, I've changed my mind," she mumbled. He still heard it, though.

"So that's your mood today, huh?" he asked, his voice seemingly as smooth as honey. He matched her pace and walked alongside her in a comfortable silence, until Y/N stopped dead in her tracks, Malfoy doing the same.

"Actually," she began, her smile quirking a bit, "well. Malfoy, I know we're not that close, but if you ever want to talk, I'm free." His face curled into one of disgust and he recoiled a bit.

"And whatever gave you the idea to think that it would be alright to suggest that?" he asked sharply. Y/N only let her smile grow a little more as she shrugged nonchalantly.

"I never said you had to accept," she replied calmly. "Just throwing it out there." He frowned deeply at her, then eased his expression a bit.

"Okay," he drawled. "I'll tell you something." Y/N felt her heartbeat quicken. This was it! She was going to get a lead!

"I'm all ears," she said, trying her best to contain her excitement. She could only imagine that she was failing miserably with her body language. She could practically feel her weight leaning forward onto the balls of her feet.

"If you think that this is a way to make sure that I don't get your parents kicked," he spoke as he closed the distance between them. He then leaned down into her ear, "then you're even more of a sorry excuse of a witch than I gave you credit for." Y/N felt her heart drop a bit at his words. They actually hurt.

"That good for a talk?" he asked innocently as he leaned away. She bit back her emotions and shook her head angrily. But they didn't stay cooped up for long.

"Peachy keen, daddy's slave," she spat as she cornered him against the wall, her eyes locking onto his own, her lip curled back in disgust. "You really came out of his ass, didn't you?" He snarled and pushed her backward by her shoulders, making her leap back into his space, the two practically nose-to-nose.

"Shut your damned mouth or I'll go make the special request right now, Y/L/N," he hissed. She shoved him backward like he had done to her, making him slam into the wall, his breath leaving his lungs. He looked at her in surprise.

"My lips are sealed," she replied with a smirk, leaving the scene to go back to the Great Hall. God, she loved winning against him. He may threaten her, but he would have a whole new thing coming.

"Remember our meeting today," he called after her angrily. "Don't you dare be late!" She looked back over her shoulder, flipped him off with both hands, and grinned.

"Wouldn't even think of it," she replied with a sickly smile. She saw his fists clenched at his sides as his ears practically had smoke billowing out of them, and she laughed to herself as she continued on her way to the Hall.


	4. The First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ayo tutor sesh numero uno

She was, sadly, on her way to meet with Malfoy for their first tutoring session. She had a feeling it wasn't going to start or end well at all. She sulked down the hallways until she made it to the entrance of the library. She had exactly ten minutes until their decided meeting time, but she didn't want to even go.

She groaned to herself as she finally trudged inside. She walked angrily to the table they decided to meet at, and plopped down in the seat. Five minutes later, he pranced in and sat across from her. Smirking.

"What're you making that face for, Malfoy?" she announced. He laughed and leaned forward onto his elbows.

"Well, Y/L/N, I was internally rewarding myself for scaring you into assisting me," he said haughtily. She smiled sarcastically and leaned up, mirroring his position.

"If you can't bring yourself to admit that a pureblood witch with higher grades and respect level than you is helping you pass class, Your Highness, then I suggest you fail," she fumed. He grimaced at her and pushed himself away from his position.

He sat in utter silence.

"Shall we begin?" she finally asked into the silence. He peered up at her, sighed, and sat up again.

"Whatever you say, Y/N," he droned. She smiled satisfied and pulled her textbook out of her bag.

"Right then," she mumbled, "let's get this over with." She refused to meet his eyes and he snorted.

"Really?" he chuckled. "You have a guest and you avoid saying a simple 'hello,' to them? A 'how are you?' Maybe even a 'I hope you're well!' You're more rude than I presumed." She rolled her eyes and met his icy blue ones, quirking her top lip in disgust and shoving her textbook toward him.

"Open it to page 271," she grumbled. He smirked and did as told. "Read independently. I assume you know how to do that, at least?" He scoffed to himself and looked up, his head still downcast. She couldn't help but notice how attractive he actually was. Everyone knew that, though.

"Perfectly," he spoke slowly.

It was the attitude and cruelty that made him unattractive.

"Good for you," she spoke sarcastically, her eyes narrowing as her fake smile lingered. She hated this already.

"You could actually teach me, you know," he spoke suddenly, sliding the book toward the middle of the table. She ripped her gaze away from the bookshelf and allowing it to pierce his own.

"I told you to read from the book," she snapped. "That's teaching. Fucking hermit." His eyes grew cold and he glared at her. She shook her head and looked back at the bookshelf, contemplating reading one of the books there.

"Don't use that tone with me," he jeered. She smiled and turned back to him, feeling a little more aggressive today than usual.

"Fine," she quipped. She stood up and pulled her chair over beside his, pulling the book between them. He watched her hesitantly as she flattened the pages and picked up the book with care.

"What're you doing?" he asked brashly. She darted a quick, uninterested look at him, then back to the book.

"You asked for me to teach you, therefore I am," she avowed. He rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and began to listen. She began to summarize each paragraph and tell him to write certain things down, which didn't go on for long until—

"You're an awful teacher," he postulated. She felt her spine dart straight as she looked at him heatedly.

"Last I recall," she sneered, "you were the one asking _me. Me!_ —for help with your studies! This was your idea. Your plan. Your choice. You did that. Not me! So either sit and listen and make a better grade, or leave and fail. I don't care which." She watched as his face morphed into a more impressed lilt.

"And you agreed," he smirked, feeling accomplished. Her blood was boiling and her eyes were practically red with fury. She gripped her fists and lightly pounded them on the table.

"Because unlike you," she bristled, "I'm actually a decent, level-minded person. Now shut the hell up, and listen to what I'm trying to teach you, or like I suggested before, _leave, dammit._ " He laughed lowly and scooted his chair forward, propping his chin in his hand.

"I'm not going anywhere, Y/L/N," he declared proudly. "Please, do continue." She huffed at his demand and continued reading from her textbook, making sure he understood and wrote his notes well.

* * *

Y/N stomped forcefully into the library after dinner and threw herself into the chair across from the twins. They all stopped mid-conversation to look at her. She was positively frazzled and fuming.

"You will not _believe_ ," she gnarred, "the complete and utter idiocy of this baboon!" Fred and George smiled knowingly and shared a small laugh.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, closing a book she was reading. _Brantille's Book of Blistering Blencies_. Blencies were total pests. Of course Hermione had to study up on every creature known to man.

"You met with Malfoy, right?" Ron asked, his eyes wider than saucers. Y/N placed her head in her hands, rubbing her throbbing temples. She groaned softly, her headache worsening just at the thought of her session today.

"Yeah," she sighed. She finally looked up, meeting their concerned gazes, and sent them a small reassuring smile, although it was easy to tell she was struggling to stay composed.

"Well, Freddie," George declared giddily, "judging by her tone, it looks like we're going to get to use those fireworks after all!" Fred laughed and high-fived George.

"Georgie, I never thought I'd ever be happier to use them," he replied with just as much glee. Y/N smiled softly at the small encounter.

"Well, what're you waiting for, Y/N?" Harry asked impatiently. "Tell us!" His eyes were wide and his shoulders were tense.

"Merlin, okay!" she defended.

She told them of her endeavor and all of the overly unnecessary immaturity that both of them had incorporated during the study. She felt like a fool for letting a platinum blond empty-headed sack of bitchiness get in her head and make her act so uncharacteristically.

She got to the part when she asked if they could begin, and that's when it went downhill.

"Wait a bloody minute," Ron stopped her.

" _Cut the fucking cameras!_ " Harry basically shouted into the silence of the library.

"Uh, doll?" Fred asked, a hint of concern in his voice.

"Oh how the tables have fucking turned," George groaned as he let his forehead collide with the table, making a dull thud.

"What?" Y/N asked worriedly.

"You do realize that Mr. Slytherin Prince never calls anyone by their first name," Fred said hesitantly.

"Only if he's—blimey I'm going to gag—" Ron literally retched on the spot, "Only if he's amused by them. Entertained. Intrigued? I don't know, but either way he must be bloody fond of you." He laughed in disbelief.

"Are you out of your pee-wee brain mind, Ronald?" she whisper-shouted as she smacked him upside the head. "The boy threatened to have my family tossed!" Ron looked down guiltily.

"Not to mention he treats her like the scum off the bottom of his shoe, mind you," Hermione brought up. Y/N shot her hands in Hermione's direction, as if displaying her.

"He certainly does!" Y/N agreed. "There is no way in hell that Draco Daddy's Boy Malfoy has any sort of fondness in his heart for me!" She expressed this with as much vigor as possible. She was not in the mood.

"I agree with Y/N," Harry spoke up. "Maybe he just had a slip-up? I mean, no one's that perfect." The table nodded in unison, but all with hesitancy. It was rather odd.

"You know," George smiled wickedly, "like the time he was kicked by Buckbeak and almost _gallantly_ lost his life." He began to mimic Draco's cries that he had let out that day. Everyone talked about it, so everyone happened to know the gist of what he sounded like that day.

"That kind of comment has saved you a spot in Azkaban!" Y/N cried as she tried to muffle her laughs.

"I don't think I've ever laughed this hard!" Hermione wheezed. Everyone doubled over and began laughing even harder. Y/N looked up as she wiped her tears of hysteria and met George's fond eyes from across the table.

He was literally sculpted from marble.

"So, what did we learn today, children?" Harry asked in a mocking tone.

"Draco Malfoy is prone to making mistakes and hates us all," Ron answered confidently.

"To punch Harold the next time he calls us his children—what huh?" she acted as if she hadn't said it. "Who said that? Not me. Wrong bitch." George snorted as he looked down to hide his smile.

"Oh ha-ha," Harry deadpanned, his eyes bored and lidded. "Very funny." Y/N shrugged playfully and laughed in response.

Maybe she _could_ survive tutoring Draco Malfoy, as long as she had this group of weirdos afterward to cheer her up.


	5. The Missing Hair-Clip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> an important accessory has gone MISSING!!
> 
> RED ALERT!!
> 
> IF SEEN (elegant pure gold twisted into a vine-like design with small pearls and diamonds decorating the piece), PLEASE NOTIFY AUTHORITIES AT ONCE!!

Y/N was frantically searching her dorm, trying to find her most important item in her life without waking the other girls. However, that was just too hard to avoid. They woke, mumbling and groaning at the commotion. But, it only took four words to make them understand the urgency and bolt out of bed to help her look.

"My hair-clip is missing!" she spoke through light tears. Her heart was twinging at the ache it left, and her guilt was climbing.

"Y/N, calm down, we'll help you look," one of the girls consoled her as they all rose to help her look.

A hour later and a search to no avail. They couldn't find her hair-clip. The most important thing in the world to her. It was gone.

Today was going to be awful.

* * *

She walked down the hallways, her head downcast and her heart in her throat. She wasn't paying any mind to where she was going when she felt someone grab her arm and pull her into a nearby classroom. 

"What do you want—" she asked, exasperated, and she met icy blue eyes, "Malfoy?" He looked at her curiously, then shook his head quickly to rid of the thought.

"Y/L/N," he started, his expression quickly cleaned as his normal stone-cold expression was plastered on.

"What a pleasant surprise, yada yada," she mumbled. "Please, tell me what you want." He rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall.

"Obviously," he replied sneakily. "Anyway, you left your hair clip in the library after you left our tutoring session yesterday." She felt her eyes light up as she suddenly took him by the shoulders and shook him wildly.

" _You have it?_ " She asked frantically, her eyes bulging out of her head. " _You have it with you? Please,_ for the love of all that is good, _please give it to me!_ " He removed himself from her iron-vice grip and stood tensely.

"Unfortunately," he began, "I do not have it with me. It's in my dorm, in my other suit pocket." She felt her face fall again, and she sighed as she leaned back against the doorway, her head thudding against it as she closed her eyes.

"Please," she begged desperately, "please don't let anything happen to it. Don't break it. Don't lose it. And please give it back to me." He watched as her eyes filled with a sadness he'd seen before.

_Loss._

He nodded with a stern face, trying not to break his façade.

"Of course," he responded. "I don't want to keep the nasty thing longer than I have to." She suddenly filled with anger and she whipped her wand out and stabbed it at his throat, leaving a bruising amount of pressure as she pushed him against the wall vigorously.

"Call me what you will," she hissed, "drag me across hot coals. I don't give a damn. But don't you _dare_ speak about my hair-clip like that. Or a possession of anyone's! When you have no _clue_ what it may mean to them. You don't speak of it that way with your filthy mouth. Do you understand me?" His eyes were wide with fear.

"I _said_ ," she growled, "Do. You. Understand. Me?" He nodded tightly, and she released him from her grip violently, his back connecting with the wall with a thunk.

She marched out of the classroom and toward the library, since she was on her way there already. They had all gotten out of their classes early today, so she was heading there to meet with her friends early.

* * *

She slid gently into the seat across from the twins again, sighing as she laid her head down on the table between her crossed arms. 

"Well, that's a first," Harry remarked. Y/N felt her irritation flare, but pushed it down easily. Harry didn't know what had happened. None of them did.

"Hey," she heard George tell him, "not now, mate. Something's up." She felt Hermione's hand tangle in her hair and pull the tiny knots in it loose. 'Mione always knew how to soothe her nerves.

"Hey," Fred spoke gently, "what's going on, doll?" Y/N felt her eyes well with tears. She was far too emotional today. She began to regret even coming to the library to meet with them today.

"Anything we can help with?" George asked softly. She felt her heartbeat quicken at the timbre of George's voice.

"Hey lovely," Hermione cooed into her ear, "what seems to be the problem?" Y/N lifted her head, tears streaking down her cheeks. She watched as they all stopped dead in their tracks, frozen, as they took in her state.

Swollen eyes. Bloodshot.

Pale skin.

Messy hair from constant fiddling.

Her bitten red lips, now chapped.

"He has my hair-clip," she whispered. The boys looked at one another in confusion whilst Hermione knew straight away why it was such a big deal. She enveloped Y/N into a large comforting hug and began stroking her hair again.

"Are hair-clips a big deal to girls or something?" Ron asked, confused. Hermione shot him a look and shook her head.

"It wasn't just any hair-clip," Y/N whimpered. She didn't feel like explaining it now. She was too distressed. They all nodded in understanding, though.

"Why the hell does Malfoy have it?" George snapped. Y/N sighed and mentally smacked herself for forgetting it in the first place.

"I forgot it yesterday," she whispered. "I take it out when I read because it gives me a headache sometimes." They nodded and George stood from his seat, walking over as he placed his chair beside Y/N's and rested his palm firmly on her shoulder.

Needless to say, it grounded her.

"He said he'd return it," she mumbled. They all sat in shock at that sentence.

"Hold on a minute," Ron spoke into the sallow mood, "why was he being courteous?" Y/N shrugged and closed her eyes, trying to ease the rapid beating of her stressed heart.

"I bet he's teasing her," Harry spoke with a scoff. Y/N nodded and frowned.

"What I suspected," she grumbled. "I didn't even think he'd mention something like that." Hermione scratched her scalp softly and it made Y/N's heart hum in content.

"Sounds like he wants to get on your good side," George sighed as he lightly squeezed her shoulder.

"Because he knows she's a force to be reckoned with," Fred spoke suavely, folding his arms behind his head and leaning back in his chair.

"Ron?" Y/N spoke with a small smile. He looked up and met her eyes.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for introducing me to your brothers," she grinned. "The actual sweetest people ever." The twins preened at the attention and smirked at Ron.

"Our pleasure—" Fred began,

"—Pretty lady," George finished.

Hermione slowly untangled herself from Y/N and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"I'll be right back," she informed them. "George, I trust you can handle her." George and Y/N blushed as Hermione left with a smile.

_What's she up to?_ Y/N wondered as she watched the girl leave the room. Hermione never walked away from the group, she was very self-isolated. It bugged Y/N and nagged at the back of her mind, telling her to follow Hermione, but she also knew that it wasn’t right. And George certainly wouldn’t let her. 


	6. Hermione Granger is a Body Guard that Deserves Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hermione is a baddie w a saddie

Hermione stomped down the hallways until she found Malfoy walking down the opposite corridor, and she felt her anger fill to the brim and overflow.

"You!" she shouted. Malfoy and his goons turned and met her fiery eyes. "Stop right where the hell you are, you self-centered, egotistical, conniving, wretched bitch!" She sped toward him, the boy cowering for a moment, then standing his ground.

"Oh," he grumbled. "The Mudblood, boys." They chuckled and he smiled proudly. She shoved him backward, _hard_ , making him stumble, and her eyes blew wide with pure rage.

"What are you playing at?" she growled. He raised a brow, confusedly, and smirked. He regained his balance and stepped forward, towering over her intimidatingly.

"What gives you the right to speak to me that way?" he asked her coldly. She grunted angrily and balled her fists, trying not to turn all of her emotions physical.

"Malfoy, don't you dare play these little games," she spat. No, seriously, she spat in his face. He wiped his cheek angrily and she smiled at her own action. One point for Miss Granger. "Why are you being nice to her?" He shook his head and laughed lightly.

"Oh," he dragged out innocently, mocking her, "it's such a rare occurrence for me to return a belonging?" Hermione looked at him like he was absolutely mad and nodded slowly.

"You certainly had an issue returning Neville's," she remarked. He scowled and flicked her forehead, showing her he was taller. Of course that was his only defense.

"That was years ago," he retaliated, "you filthy little Mudblood!" The fire inside her grew once more, as if gasoline had been poured into the flames. She kicked him in the shin, making him yelp, and shook her head rapidly.

"And yet you have the same attitude," she shouted in his face. "So tell me; what. In. The. Hell. Are. You. Playing at!" He frowned deeply at her.

"Do you ever stop and think?" he spat. "Or do you only function at the tip of your tongue? I want to pass this class. Plus, she serves as an advantage. Y/L/N has something no one else at this wretched school does." Hermione crossed her arms impatiently.

"A completely pure and brave heart?" she suggested. "Yes, we knew that already." Malfoy smirked and laughed at her statement.

"I was going to say parents that are more stacked than mine," he said with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I can't actually have her parents kicked, you empty-brained waste. They have a higher social status than mine." Hermione grumbled lowly, muttering curses at him under her breath.

"And you scared her into believing otherwise?" she snapped. "You're truly conniving, Malfoy! Evil! She's been worried _sick_!" The platinum blond grinned wickedly and stuck his nose up in the air proudly.

"Not my problem," he shrugged lazily. Then, he lowered his gaze to pierce straight through her, his entire face growing cold. "If you dare tell her the truth or anything about this conversation, I'll ruin you, Mudblood."

"No promises," Hermione smiled sarcastically. He retracted himself from her space as if she were a virus and looked her up and down in disgust.

"Your choice," he hissed. "Either be selfish, or be a _good friend._ " He sing-songed the last part to mock her.

"I hate you," she mumbled.

"The feeling is mutual," he returned with another sickly grin. He trudged away with his friends and headed back in the direction they were headed.

Hermione was afraid. Malfoy knew her parents and her entire story about her struggles with them. She shouldn't have left her journal in the library that one day last year, but he also shouldn't have read it.

The dirt he has on her...

She sped stiffly back to the library.

* * *

Y/N shot up from her position (her head on George's shoulder), as Hermione bounded back into the library. She looked awfully jittery. 

She sat down in her chair from before and opened and closed her mouth a few times, then took a deep breath, and proceeding to slowly let it out.

"'Mione?" Y/N asked hesitantly. The girl in question didn't look up from the table and kept her troubled gaze low at the table.

"Hermione?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Hermione, what happened?" Ron asked quietly, as if not to startle her.

"Sorry," she answered sharply. "Something important." They all exchanged concerned glances and then looked back to the brunette.

"Do we get to know?" Ron asked again. Ron had a severe soft spot for Hermione, and everyone knew it. But now, if anyone noticed, they didn’t say a word.

"I'm sorry," Hermione breathed. "I can't." They all shifted uncomfortably. Hermione always told them what was going on.

"It's alright, Hermione, we trust you," Y/N comforted her as she placed her palm on the girl's upper arm.

"Thank you, Y/N," Hermione nodded thankfully. She placed her own hand atop Y/N's. "I truly don't deserve you. Any of you." She grew quiet during the last two sentences.

"How could you say that?" Harry asked, sounding almost hurt. But they all knew it was because he hurt for Hermione. Seeing her in pain was just torture for everyone.

"Hermione, it's the other way around," Ron consoled. Y/N saw Hermione's lips quirk a little, attempting a smile.

"We love you so much, Hermione," Y/N practically hummed. "All of us." She felt George place his hand on her shoulder to peek around her and look at the hurt girl.

"Even Freddie and I!" he spoke in small excitement. Hermione finally looked up, looking more at ease than a few moments ago.

"We may not be in the same year," Fred began, "but we sure are lucky just to know you. Any friend of Ron's is a friend of ours!" Hermione finally gave them a full-toothed smile.

"I love all of you, too," Hermione returned. "I just fear I may have just done something I shouldn't have." Their faces scrunched in confusion.

"Hermione?" Y/N asked softly. "What happened?" Hermione’s eyes were fragile; weak. She clearly wanted to tell them but restricted herself from doing so.

"Do you need us to handle something?" Ron asked as he sat up a little more attentively.

"No, that's alright," Hermione sighed. "I hope you know I wouldn't ever do anything to any of you out of spite. Not even this." They all tensed worriedly and shared intense glances. "I'm just scared."

"Hermione, what's going on," Y/N demanded rather than asked.

"Guys," Hermione spoke timidly, but cut herself off.

"Hermione, tell us," Harry spoke sharply. "You're obviously not okay." They all nodded in agreement as Hermione struggles to form words.

"I might've," she bursted quickly, "figured out the truth of a situation. And I can't tell you because if I do he'll do something bad. Really, really bad."

"Who, Hermione," Y/N asked, already knowing the answer. "Who will do something bad?"

"Malfoy," she almost mouthed, that was how quiet she was. They all collectively bristled.

"That fucking bastard," Harry squeezed the edge of the table so hard his knuckles turned white.

"What did he say?" Ron asked hurriedly. "What happened?" Hermione shook her head quickly.

"Y/N, you don't have to worry about your parents," she spoke rapidly. "That's all I'm going to say." Y/N felt her heart stop.

"Hermione—" but the girl cut her off.

"He can't do shit to you," she assured. "So don't you dare let him think he can." Y/N nodded slowly.

"I won't," she replied shortly. "Thank you, Hermione." The girl nodded softly and sighed deeply from her stress.

"Agreed that we all should go for a walk outside and get some fresh air?" Harry suggested awkwardly. Everyone nodded and silently agreed as they collectively stood and walked outside, Hermione and Y/N linked by their arms.

What more damage could this prick ass bastard do?


	7. Draco Boxfoy’s Origin Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we get to meet haroldine’s greatest creation: draco boxfoy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y/I means your initials  
> Y/O/N means your owl’s name :))

Once Y/N had pieced all of the puzzle together at around 3 in the morning, she had decided that tomorrow she would take all of this into her hands.

Malfoy obviously threatened Hermione because she was taking up for Y/N, and that didn't end very well. She didn't like that. No one was going to hurt her friends, or threaten them, or look at them the wrong way. Not on her watch.

So, she decided to write out an owl right then to the cold-hearted boy. She leapt out of bed, but with caution as to not wake the other girls in her dorm, and over to a desk opposite their four-posters.

She dipped her quill into her obsidian black ink and began to scrawl out a small, shaky-handed message. Her anger was already bubbling up again. She had to learn how to control that soon.

_I want my hair-clip back. I'll meet you in the Astronomy Tower after dinner tomorrow and you better have it. I'm tired of waiting._

_-Y/I_

She rolled up the parchment instead of placing it safely into an envelope because she was so impatient. She handed it to her owl, Y/O/N, and watched him/her fly off into the beautifully foggy night sky toward the boy in question.

She didn't expect him to be up this late in the night, so she retreated back to her bed. She lay in silence for only a minute when her owl returned with a roll of parchment. She figured he had perhaps returned the paper without a response, but was shocked to find upon opening the item that he had in fact written back.

_Fine by me. So it's that important to you, is it? Interesting. A little hair-clip?_

_-D.M._

She decided not to answer. She knew he was only trying to rile her up further than she already was. He couldn't have that kind of control over her, she wouldn't allow it.

So she took the parchment, cast the fire charm, and watch as the parchment burnt into mere ash, falling to the floor. She cleaned it with a simple wave of her wand and sighed as she flopped backward into the solace of her bed, her blankets engulfing her in warmth.

Slowly ever so, she was lulled to sleep.

* * *

Y/N woke up and groaned. She felt so exhausted. Most likely from falling asleep with such a thudding angry headache. She showered and got dressed, mumbling curses as she swung her door to her dorm open, her feet dragging behind her at first. Finally, she began walking heavy-footed as she neared the Great Hall.

She sat down slowly into a seat at the Gryffindor table, opposite of Hermione, and coincidentally beside George. She was intending on eating her breakfast in silence until she remembered what she had done in the early hours of the morning.

"Oh, listen to this guys," she mumbled tiredly. They all looked to her attentively. Well, all except for Harry. He was crossing his arms indignantly as he looked at her like she had said a slur.

"Oh, wow," he spoke, his voice dripping with sarcasm, "no 'good morning, you lot,' or anything polite, you just expect us to listen all the time?" Y/N sent him a death glare, and he zipped his mouth tightly shut as he turned his attention back to his eggs.

"Silent. As you should," Y/N snapped at him. His jaw dropped as his eyes snapped back toward her, scoffing quietly. "Anyway, I'm meeting Malfoy in the Astronomy Tower tonight to get my hair-clip back." Hermione smiled softly at her, happy she was getting it back.

"I bet she has a plan," Ron mumbled into Harry's ear, but everyone heard anyway.

"I have a really good plan," Y/N said confidently. Hermione sent Ron a small smile, the twins doing the same.

"What'd I tell you," Ron smirked proudly. Even if neither of them admitted it, Y/N and Ron actually knew a lot more about one another than they ever let on.

"Ooh!" Hermione dragged out in interest. "What's the plan?" She bit her lip in anticipation, a foreign glint in her eyes now present that Y/N began to notice.

"I'll just tell you guys how it goes," Y/N grinned and shrugged almost snarkily.

"If she comes back and Malfoy isn't in the infirmary," Harry grumbled, "I'm going to cry." Y/N laughed and the twins nodded in agreement. Harry’s comments had been snarky and dark ever since he was young, everyone knew that. Growing up in an everything-but-loving home was never easy on a child.

"What's your first class, Y/N?" George asked her with ease. She looked up and met his eyes. Even when they were sitting he was taller.

"Potions," she sighed. "No better way to start the day than with Snape, am I correct?" He laughed and nodded.

"I can walk you," he replied confidently. "I have to walk by there to get to my class anyway." Y/N smiled gratefully and he smiled back.

"Please," Fred groaned, "he would've said that even if you told him your first class was Pubic Hair Development with—ah, what is that Muggle place? Burger King!" Harry and Hermione snorted loudly and Harry had to pinch his nose to avoid spraying pumpkin juice everywhere.

"Sod off, you bastard," George shoved Fred playfully and shook his head as he didn't pull his eyes from his plate.

"Well," Y/N spoke softly, "I think it's rather sweet, Fred. Perhaps you should take notes." She stood, gathering her things as the boys mocked Fred with "oohs" and Hermione muffled a giggle. She tapped George on the shoulder and motioned with her thumb toward the doors.

"Shall we get going?" she asked. He beamed up at her and nodded, standing and walking with her toward Potions. They mostly walked in silence, but it was far from awkward. It was very comfortable.

Then, George spoke up, making Y/N jump slightly.

"Oh," he ushered, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. Uh, I was just going to say—Be careful, tonight. I know Malfoy, and I know that he would like to tease you if he got the chance. Don't let him." Y/N grinned nearly maniacally and patted George's upper arm reassuringly.

"Oh, don't you worry, George," she spoke smoothly, "He won't." He smiled excitedly and laughed.

"What're you going to do, Y/L/N?" he sounded almost shocked. "Push him off the tower?" She raised a brow and grinned.

"Don't give me ideas, now," she tossed. He laughed louder and nudged her gently. She swayed a bit. He was much larger than her, so it didn't take much to move her.

"Like Harry said," George spoke humorously, "if you come back and Malfoy isn't in the hospital wing, I'm going to ugly sob for an entire day down these halls." Y/N narrowed her eyes and laughed.

"I don't think that's exactly what he said," she mentioned. He mimicked her expression and then shrugged.

"Well, it's what _I'm_ going to do," he responded coolly. Y/N laughed and smiled at him.

"Thank you for walking with me," she said wholeheartedly. He looked at her almost in shock, then finally smiled.

"Of course," he spoke softly.

"The walk is normally very quiet and lonely," she sighed. "I don't like silence. Even if the noise isn't directed toward me, I like hearing some sort of ambience. However, walking toward Snape's classroom is never the place for noise or mindless chatter whatsoever." He nodded and walked a little closer to her.

"How come you never asked the other three to walk with you?" he questioned. She shrugged limply and kept her eyes trained forward.

"I never wanted to bother them," she told him. "I mean, they never offered and I figured it would've been dumb to ask them to walk with me to a class because I hated the silence." He stopped in the hallway, placing his hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him curiously.

"So if I wouldn't have offered," George spoke, his voice laced with concern, "you would've walked alone in dreadful muteness to Professer Severus Snape's dark dismal classroom?" Y/N huffed a laugh and nodded.

"I suppose so," she mumbled. He tapped her shoulder with his index and middle finger, his hand still resting comfortably on her shoulder. She looked up to meet his gaze.

"I'll walk with you anywhere as long as you ask," he offered kindly. She smiled gratefully up at him. George Weasley was indefinitely the best friend she could've met. Of course, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Fred were all wonderful.

But somehow, something about George just screamed safety. Solace. Comfort. He was like a home in itself.

Molly Weasley raised her children so well it was like being stabbed in the heart with love.

Y/N smiled sadly and patted George's cheek affectionately. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. She pulled away and tugged him by the forearm behind her.

"Hurry, now," she scolded lightly, "I'll be late for class!" He laughed behind her and allowed himself to be tugged along by her.

Was George a friend or...possibly more?

And yet, somehow a thought lingered at the back of her mind. One that didn't make any sense in the least as to why it should concern her.

_Draco._

* * *

She had just finished her dinner, and she excused herself from her friends, but they needed no explanation. They already knew where she was headed. She walked quickly and swiftly through the halls, rounding corners with hesitancy. 

She didn't plan on being asked what she was doing or where she was headed.

She snaked through the doorway to the Astronomy Tower and walked up the staircase. The place was void of any person. It was only her. Malfoy had better show up.

She walked forward slowly, toward the railing on the edge of the tower. She leaned her elbows and forearms against it, allowing the cool near-winter breeze to nip at her cheeks. She sighed and watched as a faint cloud of smoke erupted from her mouth due to the cooling temperature.

She felt someone else was there after a few moments and turned defensively to meet icy eyes and striking platinum blond hair.

"What're you making that face for, Y/L/N?" he asked with a small smirk. She rolled her eyes and leaned backward against the railing.

"Oh, very funny," she replied snappily. He laughed. Not rudely. _Genuinely._

And Y/N decided then and there that he looked very charming with a smile, and that his laugh was rather melodic, almost.

Then, she shut it out almost as quickly as it had came. There was no way that she was going to allow a thought like that about _Draco Malfoy_ to enter her mind.

She laughed back, seemingly genuine, until she stopped suddenly and stalked toward him quickly, backing him against the railing behind him which guarded the massive globe in the center of the tower.

Her arm was pressed tightly against his chest, and if Malfoy lost his grip on the railing behind him, he would fall down to the floor beneath them.

"What in the hell are you doing?" he spat nervously. She whipped her wand out and stuck it against his throat with enough pressure to leave a mark.

"I want you to listen and listen very well," she seethed through clenched teeth. "You won't lay a hand, finger, or _wand_ on me, nor my friends, nor my family. If I find out you did, I'll just have to deal with you myself. I might even let my parents tag along if they feel so fit. How does that sound?"

He nodded in short quick motions, and Y/N pulled her wand away slightly, then jabbed it back into its place, making the boy whimper slightly. She raised a brow with a small smirk playing on her lips, then slid her wand back into the pocket of her robes. He let out a weird, nervy laugh as he tried to compose himself.

"And you make friends with all of those Gryffindors so easily?" he snapped. "That kind of attitude is normally only seen in my own house. Being all cunning and sly like that. Crude." She whipped her head toward him. If looks could kill, Draco Malfoy would be suffering a painful death.

She smiled sadistically and grabbed him by his tie, the boy locking his eyes with hers in both fear and...was that arousal?

His eyes darted down to her lips and back up, and shamefully, hers did the same. He began leaning in slightly until she ripped herself out of whatever trance that was, pushing him backward with a snarl.

He scoffed at her indignantly, and she rolled her eyes.

"The only difference between people like you and I, Malfoy," she growled, "is that I am brave. And loyal. You, are a coward. You are a kiss-up. And you're a bitch about almost every little thing. I take up for myself like any other _brave_ person would." His eyes were blown wide in shock, then narrowed in irritation.

"And what about chivalry?" he asked snarkily. "Isn't that important to the people you associate with? Don't you want to be like them?" Y/N frowned deeply at him. She began walking toward the staircase, stopping at the top.

"My chivalry toward you in this case, Your Highness," she replied calmly, "is having the decency not to push you off that edge. Tempting, but as you said. It's important to my crowd. Goodnight, Draco." She didn't care what she called him. As long as he left her alone.

* * *

She walked quickly to the library, skipping a little along the way. Surely, the trio and the twins would still be in the library. She was only gone for maybe fifteen to thirty minutes. 

She glided in, and to her pleasure, they were all at their usual table, cracking jokes and laughing happily. She ran over and jumped into her chair, almost knocking it over. George grabbed the back of the seat and steadied it.

"GUYS!" she almost shouted. "GUYS, I DID IT!" They all shared amused and excited looks, and Harry sent a wicked smile.

"Retreat to the Gryffindor Common Room!" he announced proudly as they all stood and walked quickly to their destination, slightly skipping along the way.

Upon entering, Harry rushed to his room, then returned with fifteen large boxes of popcorn. He offered everyone a box, all of them declining except for Ron.

"Alright, may I start over?" Y/N asked happily. They all nodded rapidly and urged her to continue. "GUYS! GUYS, I DID IT!" she shouted yet again.

"Did what, you goof?" George asked.

"Did you set some fireworks on Malfoy yourself?" Fred asked excitedly.

"No, although that would've been magnificent," she told Fred. "I'll tell you all the whole story!" They all leaned forward at attention, Harry munching obnoxiously on popcorn while Ron just casually popped a piece into his mouth now and then.

"I don't know about you guys, but popcorn and a story like this are just a brilliant mix," he commented. Hermione laughed and Ron smiled in amusement.

She told them about their small greeting and how she had pushed him against the small railing behind him in the tower, and watched as their eyes grew wide. They were hooked. Harry was rapidly scarfing down the popcorn, now on his second box.

God, when someone gave him the chance, Harry Potter could out-eat even Ron.

"I'm literally _inhaling_ this popcorn this is so good," Harry praised the story so far, " _please, I'm begging you,_ tell me you pushed him off."

Y/N covered her laugh with a tight-lipped smile and let out a small snort.

She proceeded to tell them about how she had pressed her wand against his throat after he had asked what she was up to.

George let out a small noise in disbelief and Fred burst into booming laughter.

She then told them about her main message to him and the threat that came with it. Hermione was positively heaving for breath from laughing so hard.

"I'm on my _fifth box_ of this shit," Harry practically spat in excitement. Everyone looked at the ground and saw that Harry had, in fact, eaten four entire boxes of popcorn. Ron was still on his first.

"Well," Ron started back up, "PERIOD!" Y/N beamed at his enthusiasm and laughed.

"YOU REALLY-" Fred managed to say between hysterical laughter, "YOU REALLY GAVE HIM TRAUMA!"

"Reasons why I want Y/N to marry me," George began as he held up all of his fingers and pretended to count them, "all of the above." Y/N felt her cheeks heat at the comment and continued with her story.

She told them about how she taunted him with her wand and Malfoy's odd noises. Then she told them what he had said about who she associated with, and how he said her behavior was typically of a Slytherin.

"Oh, no the _fuck_ he did not!" Ron snapped aggressively. Ron felt very strongly about Slytherins, there was no doubt about that. Pretty much every Gryffindor ever. Y/N didn't have a problem with some of the Slytherins. Others were just unnecessarily...vocal.

Harry then stood up and picked up his boxes of popcorn, now having eaten ten _entire_ boxes and began stacking them in a specific formation, mending them with magic. Everyone was silent as they watched him.

He noticed the sudden silence and turned, looking at all of their confused faces. He turned to face them fully, his arms dropping to his sides.

"I'm making a Draco-shaped figure out of my boxes so I can punch them," he stated as if it were perfectly normal.

"HARRY NO," Hermione shouted as she bursted into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Everyone else followed. Harry went back to building his popcorn box figure and shouted back at Hermione.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP," he retaliated, "I'M VENTING. Ron, could you pass me your box when you finish? Thanks, mate." They all let out their laughter and once it dissolved, Y/N went back to her storyline.

She began telling them about the incident with his tie. How she held him in her vice-like grip even though he still had a height advantage on her. How their lips had almost met. And that's when chaos broke out. They were all speaking at once.

"You—" Fred.

"She—" George.

"...Are we interrupting something?" Hermione.

"I feel like I'm invading," Ron.

And Harry swung at the figure of Malfoy he had made, which was surprisingly already done. No one had noticed how quickly Harry had managed to forge it. The force with which he hit the figure sent it flying to the ground, then bounding back up. He must have charmed it.

"I think I just hit Draco Boxfoy hard enough to kill him in real life," Harry spoke darkly. Everyone laughed at Harry's name for his figure, and Y/N laughed at them all for their comments and shook her head.

"Let me finish, you lot!" she spoke. She told them about how she had pushed him away and told him off for mentioning her actions and choice of company.

Harry let out a long, drawled out "PERIOD" and Ron laughed as he high-fived him. She then told them about how Malfoy had mentioned chivalry.

"Can I roundhouse him?" Fred asked seriously.

"We," George corrected his twin. The two fist-bumped without looking. She laughed and rolled her eyes playfully.

And she finished off by telling them what her last words to the blond were before she left.

"DAMN-N-N-N!" Fred bellowed. Y/N placed her hand under her chin innocently and looked upward, enjoying the praise.

"I still can't believe he almost _kissed_ her," George remarked. Harry pointed at George erratically, nodding as he ate somehow even more popcorn.

"Right!" Harry agreed.

"George, stop being heartbroken and _join the actual conversation,_ " Ron teased his older brother.

"I am _not heartbroken!_ " he defended himself. Ron rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief.

"I can confirm that he's heartbroken because my heart may or may not have gotten broken too at that part in the story," Fred admitted with a laugh.

"Y/N!" Hermione hooted as she laughed.

"I am not blushing," Y/N mumbled as she covered her face with her hands, "I am not blushing, I will not scream, I will not scream." They laughed at her and she removed her hands, her cheeks tinted pink.

"Ugh!" Ron complained. "This is what I get for introducing my brothers to my friend!" Y/N blushed further and looked down.

"EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Harry shouted as he threw his arms out dramatically. Dead silence followed. "Thank you. So we can all agree that Y/N put Malfoy in his place and we're clear for a while?" Everyone nodded in unison.

"Yes, Harold, I believe we can," Hermione teased. Harry whipped his head over to her and gasped in shock at what she had called him.

"Not you too," he mumbled.

"Hermione I love you," Y/N laughed at the girl's humor. She smiled proudly.

"No, love me!" George and Fred interjected simultaneously. Y/N felt her face burst into red hot flames again, her embarrassment floating off of her in waves. She covered her face with her hands and shook her head, hearing the twins laugh proudly.

"I'm about to kick myself out of this friend group," Ron groaned as he let his head thunk against the back of the sofa.

"Oh, wait," Harry mentioned, "you got your hair-clip back, right, Y/N?" The twins shared knowing looks and began mumbling to one another, but not as quietly as they probably assumed.

"Ten galleons says she didn't," Fred told his twin. George smirked and nodded.

"I just know she forgot," George laughed.

Y/N was silent as her face fell into a deep frown, and her eyes lidded in disappointment.

"Damnit," she mumbled as she sunk lower into her seat.

"Don't worry," Hermione patted her hand comfortingly. "You'll get it back soon, I know you will." Y/N nodded thankfully, but her smile was tight-lipped.

She _had_ to get her hair-clip back.


	8. Adaleia Copper’s Hair-Clip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> we meet adaleia cooper: y/n’s late best friend.

Y/N was still reeling from last night. They had all stayed up late watching Harry add details to Draco Boxfoy out of the cardboard popcorn boxes. He literally made eyes, a nose, a mouth, and Malfoy's signature hair style out of the cardboard. It was scarily accurate.

Turns out, Harry did charm it to bounce back up if it was knocked down and it would repair itself if it broke. Y/N found it rather impressive, but she wasn't as surprised since Harry took his Malfoy hate so seriously.

She was walking down the hallway now. It was her free period. She had ended up getting one because she took harder classes since she was at a higher learning advantage. She was roaming aimlessly, dragging her fingertips along the cool stone walls.

She saw Malfoy walking down a hallway to her left, and she smiled at her luck.

"Hey, America's Next Top Model!" she shouted after him. He froze and spun around, meeting her eyes and smirking at her. He began walking in her direction as she walked in his.

"We're not in America, you git," he responded. She rolled her eyes and stopped right in front of him, the boy doing the same.

"Shut up," she sighed. "I'm jabbing at you." He crossed his arms and tilted his chin in the air proudly, seemingly taking her in as he looked her up and down.

She noticed how bright his eyes were when he was in a good mood, and how much more bright they were when the light hit them just right. They were almost grey they were so light, and the light rosy tint to his pale skin made him look like a piece of art.

_Wait what the hell._

"Well, you're bloody awful at it," he chuckled. "And you're abusive." He tilted his neck to show the tiny bruise her wand had left yesterday.

"I prefer assertive, thank you," she sassed. He scoffed and allowed his signature frown to take over his features.

"What do you want?" he asked bluntly. She laughed and nodded. Of course. Malfoy was never a sucker for small talk.

"You still have my hair-clip," she huffed. He cocked a brow and dragged his tongue across his top teeth again. He slumped and sighed.

"Oh," he breathed. "Yeah, I remember now. After you nearly slit my damned throat, I contemplated tossing it off the Astronomy Tower." She narrowed her eyes at him and felt her fists clench.

"I couldn't have slit your throat with my _wand_ , Malfoy, stop your whining," she grumbled. He got closer into her space, and no matter how much she wanted to back away, she couldn't be a wimp.

"How about I hex that little clip and give it back then, huh?" he threatened. "Shut your mouth." She felt her face grow hot at his remark and she almost let her nails dig into her palms. "Besides, you probably wouldn't even have the gaul to slit my throat anyway."

"Wanna test that theory?" she snarled as she stepped into his space, making him stumble backward as their chests made contact. "Hermione loves experiments." She tossed in her friend's name to let him catch the hint that she was angry with him still.

"No thank you," he gritted out. "I want nothing to do with that Mudblood." She felt her ears nearly blow steam at that comment.

" _Luckily_ ," she spat ferociously, "she wants nothing to do with you either, unless it involves you being severely maimed. In that case, she wants a front row seat." He got close to her face again, their noses almost touching.

"Likewise," he whispered as his eyes drifted all over her face. It felt sinful to allow her own eyes to do the same, her tight-lipped smile dropping as her lips parted gently.

"See when you say it," she spoke suddenly, her face still close to his, "it's awful because of your poor reasoning." She backed away slowly, his face still froze in a star-struck manner. "Anyway, back to the point, I need my hair-clip back, Malfoy. It's really important to me."

"Oh, so it is?" he asked with a smirk. She laughed dryly and shook her head.

"Just shut up and tell me when I can get it back," she told him, sounding exhausted. He huffed as he processed her words.

"You can have it back if you continue to tutor me," he replied smoothly. She felt her spine go stock-straight as her heart nearly stopped beating.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she asked, shocked. He smiled victoriously.

"I am _not_ going to fail that class," he laughed. "Plus, you're not all that bad. I like your attitude." She bit her lip and laughed irritably as she shook out her hands. They had grown numb from how hard she was gripping them.

"Okay, shut your trap," she pointed her finger at his face. "I don't recall not one kind word that's came out of my mouth directed toward you." He got close to her face again, and she noticed this time how good he smelled.

"Well," he began, his voice like a snake, "if my memory doesn't deceive me, I do 'recall' you telling me that I could confide in you should I ever see it fit." She cursed herself internally for the mistake, and she blew out a sharp breath at him. He backed away this time.

"I was incredibly reluctant to do so, believe me," she mumbled.

"Those are just empty words, Y/N."

"Whatever, I'm not arguing with you. It gives me too much of a headache," she groaned as she covered her forehead. "And I'm not kidding, either. Literal skull-pounding migraines. So, fine. I'll continue to tutor you, but what do I get out of it?" He looked at her like she was dumb.

"Your hair-clip," he spoke slowly as if she was slow at comprehending it, "we discussed that already." She scoffed and slapped his upper arm, him looking at her like she was clinically insane.

"All I get for _Merlin knows_ how long of tutoring you is my own belonging?" she asked him in disbelief.

"Okay fine," he sighed. "Name your price." She grinned satisfactorily and got close to his face yet again. This situation was reeking of tension she didn't want to be there, but something inside of her...did.

"Lay off the bullying," she ordered. He huffed a laugh, tilting his head as if— _oh my god_ was he _leaning in?_

"You want me to stop teasing you?" he asked with a laugh. "Are you really that small?" She allowed her gaze to pierce his soul with all of the anger she had felt toward him in the past near two weeks.

"No," she corrected, "I mean my friends." He laughed at her like she had told the funniest joke of the century.

"Alright, now that's even worse," he replied. She rolled her eyes at him and pulled herself out of his space.

"Draco, you can take all of that shit out on me," she sighed. "I don't care. Just leave them alone. It hurts Hermione so much that it hurts me. She's just a girl. And you're just a boy. Act like the young teen that you are, and stop being a complete prejudiced child." He looked at her in shock.

Her face wasn't etched with anger, but with exhaustion. All of his drama was tiring, to say the least.

"Don't tell me what to do," he hissed. She shrugged lazily and turned halfway around, meeting his eyes.

"It was my request, Draco," she mumbled. "I never said you _had_ to do it. It was just the requirements if you accepted. And it was the truth." He watched as her eyes looked clouded with that same thing he saw before.

_Loss._

What was this hair-clip to her? He had to figure out.

"I don't remember us being on a first name basis," he slipped. He didn't mean to say it, really, rude comments just came naturally these days. Which sounded awful, he knew that. But he didn't know any other way.

"If you hate me this much," she finally broke out, her arms flinging outward as her brows furrowed sadly, "then why are you even asking that I still tutor you?" He felt his head throb with confusion and his heart had this odd feeling within it.

It felt like there was pressure there, and he was becoming weary.

"I'm not asking anymore," he spoke forcefully, "I don't need your help." She sighed as she let her eyes close and her head hang in exasperation. She turned fully now, walking away.

"Suit yourself," she called behind her. She heard him begin stomping back to where he was headed before, and she tuned him out once she realized he wasn't stalking toward her in anger.

Was he always going to be this much of a prick? Sad.

* * *

Y/N had arrived before her friends this time when she got to the Great Hall for dinner, which was a first. She stirred her food around her plate, wondering where they could've gone, or what they were up to. 

Her question was answered when they all came barreling into the hall, and surprisingly no one else paid any attention to the five that had caused such a ruckus. They plopped down into their usual seats around Y/N and heaved for breath.

"Y/N you're going to _flip!_ " Hermione shouted. The girl raised a brow at her friend, wondering what in the world had happened.

"What is it?" she asked with a twinge of concern.

"It's Malfoy!" Ron whisper-shouted. "We caught him!" Y/N looked at them all like they'd lost their minds.

"Caught him doing what?" she asked as she spooned some mashed potatoes into her mouth.

"We caught him with your hair-clip!" Harry said as she slammed his palms on the tabletop. Y/N felt her throat constrict around her potatoes and she nearly choked.

" _What do you mean you caught him with it?_ " she seethed. "We all know he has it!" Fred grabbed her shoulders and shook her like mad.

"No, doll, you don't understand!" he exclaimed. She felt her head swim from being dizzy, and George removed her from Fred's grip after noticing her dizzy state.

"The bloody idiot was _fondling it,_ " George told her, his voice laced with shock of his own. Y/N felt her heart twinge.

"What do you mean 'fondling?'" she asked hesitantly. Hermione smirked, an expression Y/N hardly ever saw on her.

"Malfoy had it in his hands while he was sitting in a corner connecting one of the hallways," she spoke smugly.

"He was stroking the thing like he was trying to figure it out," Ron mentioned. "Like it was precious, but he couldn't figure out why." Y/N felt her chest tighten and her heart lift in hope.

_Wait, hope?_

"Quite an odd sight if you ask us," the twins spoke in unison.

"Well, what'd you guys do?" Y/N asked in hopes they had retrieved her clip. She really wanted it back. Needed it back.

"We didn't do anything," Hermione sighed in disappointment. "There wasn't really anything we could do. It's your hair-clip, not ours. So Malfoy wouldn't even think of giving anything to us if it didn't belong to any of us." Y/N nodded in agreement, but her heart dropped.

"He never saw us, but he kept staring at it," Harry mentioned, getting back to the story. "We were making sure he wasn't hexing it or anything, and then he stood up and put it in his suit pocket." Y/N felt her brows furrow in confusion as she looked down at her hands.

"An oddball, that one," Fred laughed.

"He sure is taking good care of it, though," George said confusedly. It didn't make sense to anyone else, either.

"He better," Y/N grunted. "That hair-clip is beyond important to me." She felt everyone's eyes lock onto her sympathetically. Even though the boys didn't know why, they respected that the hair-clip was very special.

"Why's it so important anyway?" Ron asked quietly. "I hope I'm not crossing a boundary." The boys nodded in agreement with Ron, and Y/N sighed.

"Well," she began, "it's important to me because it was gifted to me. Years ago, five at the most, I was walking in Diagon Alley with my best friend Adaleia. Adaleia Copper was the closest person to me that I'd ever known. We were platonic soulmates, I just know it.

"Unexpectedly, right before we were going to walk into Ollivander's, we heard a noise. I was one to ignore it, but Adaleia...She turned to see what it was that had created such a loud bang.

"It was a Death Eater. Now, why there was a Death Eater in Diagon Alley at that time, I don't know. I always questioned it. But, after a while I learned to come to terms with the intensity of it and the situation.

"Anyway, they took her. She put up a good fight, even I tried to help. All of the passerby's just hid. Adaleia pushed me back and told me to run. To find shelter. To save myself. I refused.

"Soon, Adaleia was rendered unconscious and taken away. I remember falling to the ground and crying, and when I looked closer, I saw Adaleia's hair-clip that I had given her for her 11th birthday that year.

"I've kept it with me ever since. It's helped me to keep a piece of her with me at all times, even if I'm not wearing it. I can keep it in my pocket." Y/N finished, wiping her eyes. She hadn't told anyone this story in so long.

"Y/N, that's awful," Harry spoke quietly. "I'm so sorry."

"That sounds like a nightmare," Ron managed to speak.

"It was," she confirmed. "It still is. I'm terrified of Death Eaters when it comes down to it, but I want to kill them all off myself because of it." They all nodded supportively.

"Did you ever see her again?" George asked faintly. Y/N met his sad gaze and shook her head.

"No," she mumbled. "I haven't seen her since. She was never found, so they announced her dead." She felt her heart rip into pieces again at the thought of Adaleia dying and having no one there to help her.

"I'm so sorry, doll," George pulled her into a hug, and she returned it gratefully.

"I'm dreadfully sorry," Fred placed his hand comfortingly on her back, his thumb stroking her shoulder blade. The twins were so kind and loving, it made her feel incredibly safe and secure.

"Any chance that Adaleia Copper is the daughter of Hanson Copper?" Harry asked with a lilt of curiosity in his tone.

"Yes," Y/N replied hesitantly. "Yes, she was." Harry frowned sadly and nodded.

"Then I bet that's why," he admitted more to himself than the others. "Lucius Malfoy wanted Hanson Copper dead since they graduated from Hogwarts. My bets are that he confiscated all of the Coppers. Apparently, Adaleia's family was infiltrating an area hiding a Horcrux even before her parents got married." Y/N felt her heart ache yet again.

"How do you know that Harry?" she asked, almost speechless.

"Dumbledore and I were discussing it," he sighed. "He let me see memories. Voldemort has no kind ones of Hanson, in fact, they were incredibly hostile." Y/N allowed another tear to escape, and George and Fred stroked her back to ease her.

"Poor Adaleia," she whispered. She mourned the loss of Adaleia Copper every single day. She didn’t deserve what happened to her, no one would’ve. Especially not if they were Adaleia. She missed the girl’s incredible ability to always make a situation funny. Like her last words to Y/N being when she tried to convince her to give up on trying to get her back. 

_“Please!” Adaleia shouted through sad, terrified tears; her eyes conveying nothing to Y/N but comfort. “Y/N, please! Go! Stay safe! Forget me! You have far too much ahead of you to dwell on me! I’ll be fine!” Y/N’s eyes burned with the overwhelming amount of tears that had poured over her cheeks, yelling, shouting, pleading with the strange masked figure to let Adaleia go._

_“Addie,” Y/N begged through hiccups, “please, fight! Fight back, please!” Adaleia’s face adorned a smile, her brows creased gently. She looked resigned. “No, don’t you dare give up on me!” Adaleia shook her head and stroked Y/N’s small hand shakily._

_“I’m sorry, Y/N,” Adaleia sighed, her voice wavering with unshed loud sobs, “I love you dearly, I do. I’ll never forget you. Not ever.” Her face twisted in agony as she wrenched Y/N’s tight unrelenting grip from her wrist, and Y/N shouted out in despair as Adaleia and the masked figure disappeared in a cloud of opaque black smoke._

Adaleia Copper. The bravest girl Y/N ever knew.

"This is all horrible," Hermione finally spoke, breaking Y/N’s sad reminisce. "But, it's gotten us closer to knowing how to get to Voldemort and stop him before he tries to get to Harry." They all nodded in silent affirmation.

"Moldevort," Fred grumbled under his breath. Y/N couldn't help it, she snorted and George laughed with her.

"My apologies, that was a good one," she sniffed as she fist-bumped Fred from behind her. Even the absence of Adaleia would never amount to the joy and fullness that came with the presence of the friends she had now.


	9. The Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> y/n is in the hospital wing, and receives a strange letter.

Her day had already been far too stressful. She was done dealing with the stress of her hair-clip, she was done dealing with Malfoy's constant teasing in the hallway, and she swore if he said one more thing to her in the hallway she was going to explode.

She was walking out to the Quidditch field at the moment. Since she had privileges within the team and was known for her skills on a broom, she was given authority to fly around as she pleased. And just within her luck, the Slytherin team was practicing at the moment.

_Great._

She swung into the locker room and grabbed her broom, speeding back out as she mounted her broom and launched herself into the air carelessly. She felt the wind whip her hair around, taking in the crisp air as she lazily rode around.

And then came that blasted voice.

"Y/L/N!" _Malfoy._ "What're you doing up there, huh? Someone piss you off enough to make you wanna fly off?" She paid him no mind and began swerving around gracefully, dipping into loops and spins.

"Don't you pay attention?" he shouted after her again. "Is this why you don't have a spot on the Y/H Quidditch team? Because you can't fly for shit?" The Slytherins laughed boastfully and she stopped midair, sending him a murderous glare.

 _Damnit,_ she had to stop letting him get to her so easily.

She resumed her mindless flying and he simply couldn't find it within himself to leave the girl alone.

"See, she can't even say anything back!" he laughed. "It's because she knows her opinion isn't worth a piece of Mrs. Norris' shit!" She whipped around on her broom and faced him, her eyes going dark.

"My opinion is far more important than yours, you toe callous! At least _my_ parents don't feed me everything from a golden spoon! You're a fucking boycott who only goes along with his parents' beliefs because he wasn't ever taught another way!

"At least _I'm_ independent and modest! You're just a shallow, singleminded, spoiled little prick!" she shouted at him, lacking any restraint. Her blood was boiling, and her eyes were blurry from the force of her stare.

"You good for nothing pathetic excuse of a witch!" he retaliated. She flew a tad lower to have a better look at him and faced him fully.

"So you've said before!" she laughed. "Old insults are a bore, haven't you been told?" He growled and went to shout at her again when his eyes suddenly went wide.

She tried to see what he was so worried about when she felt a large object come into contact with the back of her head, knocking her off her broom. She heard a shout as she fell, and before she could register to regain her balance, she blacked out completely.

* * *

She awoke in the hospital wing alone. She supposed everyone was in their classes. She sat in silence for a moment, assessing her surroundings. She saw a few cards and small gifts from Hogsmeade on either side of her on small tables. 

She picked up one of the cards, which happened to be from Harry. It was blue, and in black writing was a simple scrawl with a small doodle of her in the bottom right corner.

**Congratulations! You're a Klutz!**

She reread the front cover multiple times, laughing at his sarcasm. She opened it and a small burst of confetti burst out, then disintegrated conveniently. On the inside, it read:

**No, but seriously. Stop getting into stuff like this, you twat. And tell your concussion to go away. It's not very nice of it to stay for so long.**

**Get better please, we all miss you.**

**-Harold**

She felt her heart warm at Harry's genuine tone he had used. She beamed when she realized he had signed it as "Harold" and not "Harry". She knew it was because he wanted to make her laugh. She picked up the second card, from Fred.

It was yellow and had red splotches all over it. She supposed he had designed that himself.

**Get Better You Absolute Goon!**

She laughed as charmed doodles kept appearing all over the card of him waving his arms and dancing around like the goofball he was. She opened it and a mini firework set off.

**We miss you a lot, Y/L/N. The library isn't the same without you. It's been two bloody days! Open your eyes, you wanker! Also I may or may not have hexed Malfoy's underwear to give him wedgies intermittently and there's no way to reverse it. At least, that he knows of. Get better!**

**-Freddie**

She laughed at Fred's antics and picked up the last card, which was from George. She felt her smile grow at seeing his. It was red with yellow blotches, almost the same as Fred's, but done with much more care.

**Get Up, You Lazy Bones!**

She watched the cover as little mindless doodles appeared and disappeared all over the card.

**Listen here, missy. I'm not happy that you went out on your broom knowing that jerk was out there. You know he's trouble! However, I don't blame you for being angry. Just get better and get rid of that bloody concussion! We miss you tons, Y/N/N.**

**Love and care,**

**Georgie**

She found herself smiling bigger than she had with Harry and Fred's cards, and she felt slight guilt for it. She placed the card aside and saw Ron and Hermione had left her tons of candies and chocolates from Honeyduke's.

She looked to her right and saw a gift from someone she didn't know, and picked it up. It was a small box of all her favorite chocolates from Honeyduke's. She wasn't much of a candy person, and was known to be very picky. But chocolate would always be her guilty pleasure.

Attached was a small letter. It read: **Y/N, from C.D.** She was going to read it when someone entered the room. She looked up to meet eyes with none other than Malfoy himself. She rolled her eyes and placed the gift back, closing her curtain around her as she prayed he wasn't there to see her.

Her curtain was pulled back hesitantly as he entered the small space and sat in the chair beside her bed. He fiddled with his hands and opened and closed his mouth a few times until he finally began.

"Y/N," he spoke quietly. She turned to face him, her eyes cold. "I apologize for being rude." She raised a brow and frowned deeply.

"Why are you apologizing?" she asked snappily. "Because I'm in the hospital wing? Fuck off, Malfoy, I don't need you teasing me." He huffed impatiently and slumped in the chair.

"I'm not trying to be rude, I promise," he muttered. "I just know it sucks to be in your situation, is all." She laughed, looking away from him angrily. "Anyway, I still have your weird hair-clip." She instantly snapped toward him, her eyes layered with fury. She felt her head swim from whipping around so quickly.

"Don't you dare call it weird," she spat at him. "Don't call it _anything_. You don't deserve to even touch it." His eyes widened as he looked away, acting as if she were mad.

"Damn," he huffed. "Sensitive much?" She felt her heart twinge at his harsh tone toward the clip. It wasn't _just a hair-clip._

"You don't know half the story behind that hair-clip, Malfoy," she growled. "So mind your own." His face fell as he realized what she was trying to say.

"Oh, I didn't mean to insult it," he apologized suddenly. "Is it important to you? Like, family-wise?" She scoffed and stuck her tongue against her bottom lip, trying her best not to smack the sense into him.

"Why the hell are you being nice to me?" she asked breathlessly. He shifted his position to face her better, but her arms remained crossed, closing herself off from him.

"Ever stop to think that maybe I'm not as cruel as you make me out to be, Y/L/N?" he asked, amused. She rolled her eyes. "I'm trying, you know. To be better than I am. Of course, I don't want to be _Saint Potter_ or anything stupid like that. I just don't want everyone to think I hate the world and everything in it."

"Really?" she interrupted.

" _I don't,_ " he spoke slowly. "I just hate people who are too ignorant to know their place." She laughed dryly and nodded slowly as to not hurt her head further.

"Somehow that last sentence just made you seem even worse," she spoke with false sentiment. He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Fine, whatever you want to believe," he sighed. "The reason I'm apologizing is because if I hadn't called you everything I did then maybe you wouldn't have done something as impulsive as you had." She scoffed again and sat up straighter.

"Me! I was impulsive? I _got myself hurt?_ " She asked him in shock. "You shouldn't have taunted me! Learn to shut your mouth, Malfoy. Besides, it's just a bruise or two." He laughed and shook his head.

"You broke your arm and got a concussion, Y/L/N," he stated. She shrugged and refused to meet his eyes.

"Like I said, a bruise or two," she mumbled.

"Last I checked," he mused, "a bruise and a cleanly broken forearm are two completely different things. Same with a concussion." She slumped in defeat and finally noticed her arm wrapped in light cloth.

_How didn't she notice that before?_

"Oh, shove it," she mumbled. He laughed out loud and leaned back in the chair as he did so, Y/N watching as his chest rose and fell with the force. She saw the way his eyes crinkled at the edges and how pretty his smile actually was.

_Wait, no. Not again._

"You actually made me laugh," he finally spoke through small peals of laughter. She grinned and pumped her good arm into the air playfully.

"TEN POINTS FOR GRYFFINDOR!" she shouted into the room. He frantically shushed her and laughed again.

"More like fifty," he joked. "You took your arm out to prove yourself." She smiled in content.

"Well would you look at that," she spoke proudly. "Draco Malfoy is actually fun to hang out with if you get to know him." He smirked and relaxed his posture.

"I told you," he replied smugly. "Doesn't mean I won't still harass you, though." She rolled her eyes again as he laughed giddily.

"Trust me," she sighed. "I already knew that." He smiled as he stood, patting her shoulder lightly.

"I best be going," he told her. "I'll see you tonight for tutoring?" She nodded.

"I suppose so, Mr. Malfoy," she taunted. He retched and shook his head rapidly.

"Ew," he groaned. "No, _do not_ call me that ever again!" She laughed and he continued making sick faces. 

"No promises," she jeered. He hummed a laugh and flicked her shoulder.

"I'll see you soon, Y/L/N," he told her goodbye. She nodded politely and sent him a closed-mouth smile.

"Catch you on the flip-side, Daddy's Boy," she smirked. He shook his head as he placed his hands in his pockets, turning to leave. Before he opened the curtain, he turned back to her.

"Don't. Be. Late," he punctuated as he wagged his finger at her.

"Or what?" she sniggered. "You'll tell your father about it?" He groaned and she laughed.

"Shut your bloody mouth, Merlin's beard, I can't stand your putrid ass!" she knew he didn't mean it, but her smile fell a tad anyway. He walked out without another word, and she let him.

She sat back in her bed, her eyes beginning to close when her friends came barreling inside of the hospital wing.

"Y/N!" Harry shouted, drawing it out for a long time as he ran over to her bed. When he got there, he engulfed her into a large hug, and he grunted with the force of it.

They all arrived at her bedside and he finally let go.

"Guys," she mumbled. Harry groaned loudly and nearly flopped to the floor.

"WHY DO YOU ALWAYS SAY THAT WHEN YOU WANT OUR ATTENTION?" he blurted. Ron snorted as he hid his face in his hands.

"Shut the fuck up I hate you," she interrupted him. He gasped and she put her hand in his face to shut him up. " _Anyway,_ who in the hell is "C.D." and why'd he leave me a gift here? What the fucking fuck?"

"Well I left you something but apparently that's not deserving enough of a thank you, now is it?" George mumbled with a frown. Y/N turned to him immediately and frowned at herself.

"No, George, I did see it," she assured him. "Thank you so so much, it was so sweet. I'm just confused by this one, is all."

"WE ALL LEFT FUCKING GIFTS AND YOU'RE NOT EVEN THANKING US," A

Harry shouted as he flung his arms into the air.

"I made you a card," Fred muttered sadly. Y/N put her head in her hands and groaned.

"I KNOW, I'M SORRY," she shouted, which she immediately regretted. It made her head pound miserably. George and Hermione noticed her wincing in pain, and they both went to her aid.

George rubbed her back comfortingly and Hermione stroked Y/N's hair gently, coaxing the headache away.

"Just help me," she mumbled.

"Alright, alright," Hermione cooed. "C.D...who do we know?" They all began thinking as Y/N let George and Hermione cater to her.

"There's Carden Daniels," Ron suggested.

"Or Caleigh Dawson," Hermione tossed.

"There's a letter with it," Y/N sighed. "Maybe that'll help?" They all nodded.

"What does it say?" Fred asked as she opened the letter.

She read aloud:

_Dear Y/N,_

_Hey there, I heard about your accident. I actually saw it go down, I was headed down to the field with a few others at the time. I hope you're alright. Maybe this won't be weird, but I've noticed you around. You seem like a really sweet and headstrong girl. You doing what you did and saying what you said after Malfoy decided to yak on was brave of you. Anyway, I know you most likely don't know who I am, which is actually a bit relieving since I'm outing myself a lot right now. Get better soon! I'll look forward to seeing you back around the halls._

_-C.D._

"That was actually very sweet," Hermione commented. George rolled his eyes at that.

"Well, it doesn't give us much of a lead, now does it?" George sighed.

"Actually, I think I know who it is," Harry spoke, wearing his thinking face. "They said they saw it go down, didn't they?"

"Yeah?" Y/N replied restlessly.

"Well, at the time, the rest of the Quidditch teams were headed down to the field to clean our locker rooms per request by Madam Hooch. It was only a few from each team, of course. The only person there with the initials C.D. was Cedric Diggory," Harry informed.

"Who's that?" Y/N asked as her brows came together in confusion.

"HE WAS RIGHT SHE HAS NO CLUE," Ron shouted with a laugh, mentioning the letter. George snorted and covered it with a cough.

"Sending a thankful prayer that Y/N doesn't know who Cedric Diggory is," George remarked as he put his hands together, imitating prayer.

"Who's Cedric Diggory?" she asked curiously.

"I'll show you," Hermione laughed. She whipped out a book from the library that had been left in the hospital and opened it to a certain page. It was a yearbook.

"DON'T YOU DARE HERMIONE GRANGER," George shouted as he tried to take the book from her. Hermione shoved him away and he sat down reluctantly.

"Thanks a lot, Granger," Fred mumbled as he crossed his arms and pouted.

She jabbed her finger at a picture and showed Y/N the image. It was of a boy slightly older than them. His hair was beautifully windswept and slightly curly, and his face was chiseled gracefully. He had a very charming smile. The picture inside winked at Y/N, and she looked away blushing.

"That's Cedric Diggory," Hermione crooned. Y/N was silent for a moment before she smiled like a fool.

"No, that's my future husband," she smirked. Hermione laughed loudly as the twins gagged. Harry snorted and covered his mouth as Ron shouted "PERIOD". 

"Hermione, _why_ ," George and Fred groaned in despair. Ron then realized exactly what that meant.

"Great job, 'Mione, now I'll have to listen to these two whine over Y/N," he mumbled as he slumped in defeat.

"Better Cedric than Malfoy," Harry sighed.

"Where's the lie," Hermione sing-songed. Y/N grimaced and fiddled with the cloth on her arm.

"Why would Malfoy even be an option?" she asked quietly.

"Please, the tension between you two is absolutely disgusting," Harry groaned. "A. It's Malfoy. B. It's some thick shit."

"Bitch are you blind?" Y/N asked loudly.

"I don't know, Y/N/N, Harry is kinda right," Hermione spoke hesitantly.

"Well I believe Y/N," Ron spoke confidently. "They're mostly rude to one another." Hermione turned to Ron and gave him a quizzical look.

"Ronald, you have the emotional range of a teaspoon, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't know if there was or wasn't any tension," she shot. He gasped dramatically and Harry laughed into his palm.

"Okay, can you guys stop now?" Y/N asked tiredly.

"Stopping now," George spoke immediately.

"Aye aye, cap'n," Fred saluted her.

"So, does anyone know how I can talk to Cedric? I want to thank him, but I don't know when I can," Y/N sighed.

"Nope," George shot quickly. "If any of you tell her anything I hate you."

"I can't say I do," Fred said next. "Also, what George said."

"I don't," Harry said shortly.

"Neither do I," Ron shrugged apologetically.

"I do," Hermione spoke softly. "We had a project in Herbology and we shared schedules to know when we could meet up. I'll write it down for you." Y/N smiled at the girl thankfully. She took a small slip of paper from the side table and wrote down his schedule quickly, handing it to Y/N.

"Thank you, Hermione," she spoke in relief as she relaxed deeper into George and Hermione's comforting strokes along her back and in her hair.

"You have a death wish today," George muttered at Hermione.

"Why. Would. You. Do. That," Fred grumbled.

"She's just thanking him, you two," Hermione sighed in exasperation.

"If they end up being a thing you're forever shunned," Fred told Hermione darkly.

"Stage one of loss," Ron narrated in a deep voice, "denial." George turned to him with a fake smile plastered on his face.

"Ickle Ronnikins, we will _personally_ give you all of our candies and delicacies we can muster up," he spoke through gritted teeth.

"If you guys find my hiding spot, no you didn't," Ron spat quickly as he stood quickly, gave Y/N a small hug, then booked it out of the hospital wing.

"Alright, we best get going," Harry finally spoke. "We have classes and Madam Pomfrey is likely going to come release you soon." They all nodded and stood, each of them giving her a warm hug as they slowly left.

"Y/L/N! Ah, awake! Hurry now, up you get! I must take your vitals and see if you're ready to leave!" Madam Pomfrey spoke as she rounded a corner into the wing. Y/N smiled and stood carefully, her head swimming lightly.

Madam Pomfrey tested her and gave her some potion to help with the headaches and swimming, and told her to return if she became sick or if the swimming didn't stop by tomorrow.

Now, to find Cedric Diggory.


	10. Welcome to the Group

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> welcoming a new member to SABOTAGE 101:MALFOY

Y/N had decided to try to find Cedric to thank him for the gift, and mostly to find out who the hell he was. Not that she was upset. Not at all. He was nothing to be upset with, so that was quite the contrary. She looked at the paper Hermione had written down his schedule on, seeing that he would be exiting Defense Against the Dark Arts at that time. He had a free period, and luckily she did, too.

She wandered the halls around the DADA classroom and saw the familiar face Hermione had pointed out in the yearbook leaning against the wall. He was talking to three other guys about goodness knows what, and she approached them, sighing in relief since she had finally found him.

She approached, causing two of the boys to look up, leaving Cedric and the one other boy in deep conversation.

"And who might you be," the one on the left crooned at her. She huffed a laugh and sent a small smile. Cedric and the other guy looked up to see who the guy was talking to, and she noticed Cedric blush a little.

"I need a word with Mr. Diggory here," she nodded her head toward him. The three boys Cedric was hanging out with hooted in interest and scattered off, sending whoops of encouragement his way.

"I'm sorry about them," he laughed nervously. She shook her head, telling him it wasn't a big deal, and shoved her hands into her robe pockets.

"Cedric Diggory, I presume?" she asked with a smile. He laughed and shrugged, nodding.

"Yes, and you're Y/N Y/L/N," he stated it rather than asked, affirming Y/N's suspicions that he was watching her a lot.

"I believe you left me a gift," she told him as she wrung her hands inside her pockets. His face flushed as he nodded quickly, showing his nerves.

"Oh," he replied, sounding a little choked. "How'd you know it was me?" Y/N laughed and scuffed her feet against the stone floor, distracting herself from the odd silence and tension.

"Hermione," she replied as if it were no surprise, "she told me she had your schedule from a project you guys had. Plus, my friends are quite the detectives." He laughed as he subtly rubbed the back of his neck.

"I should've known," he laughed back. "I hope it wasn't out of line or anything."

"No, no, no," she rushed, "it was very kind. I wanted to thank you." His face seemed to light up as a small smile graced his lips. She couldn't help but notice how charming he was.

 _Sweet Merlin does every boy here have to be so attractive?_ she thought to herself as she swallowed thickly.

"Oh," he seemed to struggle to find words, "ah, you're welcome." She felt a small giggle escape her lips as she beamed up at him. He was exceptionally tall. Not as tall as George or Fred, but she still had to look up at him quite a bit.

"We should be friends, Cedric," she finally said, her voice quieter than it was before. She was a little scared to even ask him. What if he thought it was dumb? What if he was messing with her? What if he says _no?_

"Really?" he asked, his expression filled with awe and shock. She felt her smile widen once again in slight relief.

"Yeah," she laughed. "I love making friends." He laughed with her, his cheeks rosy.

"That would be really cool," he replied, his eyes glowing with mirth.

"You should hang with us in the library after classes and dinner today," she told him. "I'm sure they'd love you." She watched as his smile fell, but that same awed expression from before came back.

"That sounds really fun," he replied with a breathless laugh. She nodded and tried to send a closed-mouth smile, but she laughed, revealing her pearly teeth.

"Awesome!" she exclaimed. "They're super chill." She knew damn well that they were far from chill. They were literal wild heathens. But, she hoped they'd at least tone down on the psycho while Cedric warmed up to them.

"I'll see you then," he smiled as he slowly turned, walking down the hallway toward where his friends had gone. She watched him walk away and smiled to herself.

When she turned around to leave, she saw Draco and his friends gathered by the other wall, and his glare was piercing through her. He looked her up and down disapprovingly, his brow raising as if saying, "what do you think you're doing?"

She only let her face fall and her eyes lid angrily, crossing her arms as she slumped at the inconvenience of his attitude. She raised her right hand slightly, flipped him off, and pivoted sharply to turn down the other hall, stalking toward her next class after this period.

 _When is he going to piss off?_ she asked herself exasperatedly.

* * *

The school day didn't entirely suck. Other than Draco sending her looks all day as if he was trying to figure her out, it was perfectly well. She was headed toward the library, excited to introduce Cedric to the entire group.

She was walking confidently there, her chin held high in the air. She turned a corner and saw Cedric waiting by the doorway, leaned against the wall. She smiled and hurried over, making Cedric look up to see what the shuffling noise was.

"Hi, Cedric!" she greeted him. He sent her a beautiful smile and shoved his hands into his pockets nervously.

"Hello, Y/N," he returned. "I peeked in earlier and didn't see you in there, so I decided I'd wait for you to guide me in." He looked incredibly nervy, so she placed her hand on his elbow, giving him comfort.

"How sweet," she grinned. "Follow me." He followed her as she led him to the back of the library, near a window. She saw her friends seated at the table, and upon their entrance, George not-so-subtly banged his forehead on the table around three times.

Y/N suppressed a large snort.

"Everyone say hi to Cedric," she said as she pulled two chairs to the table for her and her new friend.

"Hi Cedric," Harry.

"Hello, Cedric," Ron.

"Hi Cedric," Hermione.

"Hermione why," Fred.

"Why would you ruin everything," George.

"Guys, that's a little rude," Ron spoke, his cheeks tinged red from second-hand embarrassment.

" _What Hermione did was rude!_ " George practically shouted. Hermione huffed and jutted out her bottom lip, pouting, as she crossed her arms.

"I was just being a good friend!" she shot back harshly. "So was Y/N!" Cedric looked completely lost as he looked back and forth between the twins, Hermione, and Y/N.

"Am I missing something?" he asked as his eyes continued to dart around. Y/N placed her hand on his shoulder to ease him as she sent a reassuring smile along with it.

"Don't worry about it, they're just having a predicament," she mumbled as she rolled her eyes playfully. He smiled back at her.

"This feels dangerous," Harry mumbled as he smirked a bit and hid his face. Y/N noticed, and snorted to herself.

"Harold, shut up," she laughed. He stuck his tongue out at her, her doing the same in return. She heard Cedric snicker beside her.

"Y/N, think really hard about this," George said suddenly, sounding incredibly serious. She looked at him worriedly at first, then saw through his dramatics.

"Who would be guaranteed to never leave your side," Fred said rather than asked. He looked deathly serious, as well, but Y/N only sighed tiredly.

"Please stop," she mumbled. The twins immediately sat up straight and wiped their act clean.

"Okay, okay," George repeated, but he sounded like he was only reassuring himself.

"We'll stop," Fred told her apologetically. Cedric leaned forward onto the table, feeling more comfortable around them all.

"Question," Cedric began curiously, "why is there a piece of parchment titled 'Sabotage 101: Malfoy' in the center of the table with a couple of bullet points?" Harry let out a long, drawled snarkle in his throat.

"Um," Y/N began nervously, afraid Cedric wouldn't like their harshness, "Malfoy hates us. And vice versa." Harry groaned and leaned back in his chair, sliding down into it dramatically.

"Shut the fuck up, you and Malfoy do _not_ hate each other," he moaned. Y/N rolled her eyes and crossed her arms angrily.

"Yes we do, Harry, oh my fucking god," she grumbled. He sighed and laughed a little, shaking his head as he hid his grin.

"Whatever you say," he sing-songed.

"We do!" she retaliated suddenly, making everyone at the table jump. She gulped as she composed herself and sat back calmly. "Anyway, Cedric, we're trying to find a way to out him. Figure him out." Cedric hummed and nodded as he gave a look of consideration.

"Oh," he replied. It seemed as if that's all he ever said.

"You don't have to, of course," she assured him. "This is just what we do in our free time." Ron mumbled "that sounds psychotic," under his breath, but Y/N heard him, her lips quirking a bit in amusement.

"It actually sounds interesting," Cedric mused. "I tend to be close to Malfoy a lot, for whatever reason. We have almost all of our classes together and I usually see him around a lot." They all shared a look of mischief as they smirked.

"So you'll help us?" Y/N asked with a sickly grin. He sent the same look back, his eyes glinting curiously.

"Of course," he smirked. "Besides, it seems like it'd be fun in the long run." Ron sighed as he held his hand out, examining his nails sassily.

"New recruit," he stated plainly. Y/N sighed and suppressed a laugh as she pretended to pull her hair aggressively.

"Ron, stop doing that, you're NOT EVEN GAY," she shouted at him playfully. Ron smacked his palms on the table and sent her a playful glare.

"LET ME LIVE, Y/N!" he sent back. She snorted and hid her face, laughing silently. The rest of the table evolved into snickers.

Turns out that Cedric's first day around the group went really well. They all got along like normal and they all went back to their dorms with smiles on their faces.

And _still_ , there was that lingering thought. The one that was pestering her to no end and making her want to tear her hair out strand by strand, it was just that annoying.

_Draco. What about Draco?_

She groaned as she flopped onto her bed after preparing to sleep, her troubled mind not allowing her to drift off into slumber very easily. Slowly, ever so tentatively, she finally fell asleep.


	11. He’s Not My Boyfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> just that, he’s NOT her boyfriend

Currently, they were all seated in the Gryffindor common room talking about everything and nothing all together. Cedric wasn't with them, which Y/N wasn't upset about that. She knew he was new to the group and might take a while to warm up to all of them. She respected it.

Harry was trying to feed Hedwig some cheese crackers he had snagged from the Great Hall after lunch. It was a Saturday, so they didn't have any classes. The twins were animatedly talking about new products they were planning on adding to their snack boxes, and everyone was interested.

It was comfortable where they were, and there were no thoughts that plagued their minds. At least, at the moment. They had even dropped all the Malfoy talk for a bit.

But Cedric Diggory had others plans, apparently.

He came barreling into the common room, apparently one of the first years let him in, and he skidded to a halt in front of all of them.

"Red alert!" he announced proudly as he heaved for breath.

"Oh my fucking god, you would," Harry spoke with a snort. "I'm trying to feed Hedwig why would you do this?" Cedric tried and failed to hide a smile, and Ron laughed softly.

"Harry get off your high horse and listen to what Cedric has to say," Y/N scolded him lightly. She turned to Cedric with a warm, welcoming smile. "What's up?" Cedric smirked and plopped down beside Y/N on the couch, but she didn't miss George rolling his eyes at the action.

"Malfoy was fondling something," he crooned. Y/N sighed since she already knew what it was. God, she wanted it back.

"A hair clip, by any chance?" George asked, unamused. Cedric's brows furrowed in confusion. Apparently he wasn't expecting any of them to know what it was.

"Yes, actually," he spoke slowly. Y/N scoffed angrily and Cedric looked at her worriedly.

"It's Y/N's," Fred grumbled. They were all frustrated that Y/N hadn't gotten it back yet. They weren't upset with Y/N, they were just upset that Malfoy of all people had it.

"What?" Cedric spoke hurriedly as he sat up straighter. He turned to Y/N with eyes pooling with concern. "Want me to get it back?" Ron laughed and shook his head, making everyone turn to him.

"That won't be necessary," he spoke through chuckles. Harry caught on and smirked as he made deathly eye contact with Y/N.

"Lover girl here and her boyfriend have 'meetings,'" Harry drawled, making Y/N cross her arms in annoyance.

"Will you shut your squeaky trap, Harold?" she sassed. "He is not my boyfriend, for the last blithering time! We're merely acquainted." She turned to Cedric with a mute expression. "I'm tutoring him, by the way. I accidentally left my hair clip at our first session. I'm getting it back soon, though." He nodded slowly, starting to understand.

"That helps," he spoke bluntly. Hermione placed her book aside and paid closer attention to the conversation.

"Anything else, Cedric?" she asked inquisitively. He looked at the table in hard concentration, then lit up a bit as he remembered.

"Well, I did see him try to go to the Y/H common room looking for Y/N," he informed them. "He was asking some people around the door if they'd let him in or if they knew where she was." Y/N felt her cheeks tint pink a bit, but she quickly pulled the feeling at bay.

"SEE HE'S YOUR BOYFRIEND!" Harry shouted as he jumped up, pointing his finger at Y/N and jabbing it in her direction.

"Harry, shut your bloody mouth, _he is not!_ " she shouted back, but she stayed sitting.

"WE JUST GOT THE FUCKING EVIDENCE YOU DIMWIT!" he shouted again, flailing his arms like mad. Y/N buried her face in her palms for a moment, then sat back up to look at Harry again.

"The _only_ evidence Cedric gave us was that Malfoy _maybe wanted to return my hair clip!_ " she shouted back. It was all playful, but she couldn't help but get a little heated at Harry's absolute shit opinions.

"Y/N has a point," Hermione pointed out as she fiddled with her bookmark sticking out of her book. "I mean, there's no telling what he could've been intending to do." Ron shrugged and merely reclined in his seat, sighing in relief.

It was silent for a moment, and Harry had sat back down. Everyone sat in a comfortable silence.

"I bet you suck face all the time," Harry suddenly spat at Y/N, making Hermione whack him in the head with her hardcover book.

" _Harold James Potter!_ " she shouted at him.

"STOP CALLING ME HAROLD!" Harry shouted back as he slammed his fists on his knees in anger.

"STOP BEING A 'DIMWIT!'" Hermione quoted Harry's insult from earlier, which made his jaw drop as he scoffed lightly.

"Ooh, she did that," Ron spoke as he flicked his wrist at them.

"Ron, will you _stop_ ," Y/N groaned at his hand motion.

"OH FUCK OFF!" he spat, flipping her off as he curled deeper into the sofa, his eyes shutting tiredly.

"I'm more scared than anything," Cedric spoke into the chaos.

"Will you all stop, you're scaring poor Cedric," she snorted as she nudged the boy playfully.

"Are you even surprised, doll?" Fred asked with a chuckle.

"It's us, star, of course he's going to be scared," George snorted as he placed his hands behind his neck. Y/N couldn't help but ogle at his arms and the way his shirt rode up a bit on his stomach, revealing his toned stomach.

She gulped.

"You're not wrong," she agreed as she looked into the fireplace, craving a distraction. She looked over and met George's gaze, who had a lazy smirk on his face as he stretched a bit, revealing more of his stomach. "OKAY! I'll go see what he wants, but if anything goes wrong, I blame all of you!" She blurted it all out as she stood nervously, George laughing to himself proudly.

"LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" Harry shouted at her statement. Hermione whacked him with her book again, making him yelp in pain.

"Harry, _calm down!_ " she shouted at him. "It was a joke!" Harry sighed as he buried his head in his hands.

"I think my hate for Malfoy is taking over my senses and basic human emotions," he groaned. He stood reluctantly and let his shoulders fall. "I'm going to take my anger out on Draco Boxfoy again."

"Harry, you have problems," Y/N snorted. He began pointing angrily at her again, and she laughed at the sight.

"And _you_ have a _stank-ass boyfriend!_ " he fired back, his face red. Y/N laughed at how overworked he was getting.

"Harry he is _not_ my boyfriend!" she shouted back. He sighed as Hermione pulled him back down to sit again, rolling her eyes as she played with his hair like the good friend she was.

"Okay, fine," Harry sighed, beginning to relax, "I'm only kidding. I know he isn't. I just feel odd about all of it." Y/N crossed her arms as she looked at Harry openly.

"Harry, I want you to listen to what I say next very carefully," she spoke softly. He nodded. "Malfoy and I are just acquainted. Hardly even friends. I can't predict the future, but I can say that where I stand right now, my opinion is this: Malfoy and I could never ever ever work out, and I don't think I'd even be willing to try." Harry seemed to not know whether to be relieved or worried.

"Let's hope you don't eat your words," Ron snickered.

"I honestly don't care what you choose," Hermione sent her a small smile. "As long as you're still Y/N and being yourself, I'm alright with whatever." Y/N sent Hermione and thankful smile.

"I love 'Mione," Y/N spoke warmly. Hermione smiled back just as happily and tilted her head in kind.

"I love Y/N/N," she cooed back. Hermione reminded Y/N so much of Adaleia in many ways. She was thankful to be able to see so much of her past in a friend in her present.


	12. Crabs, Google, and Parkinson’s Disease

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> crabs (the std), google (the browser), and parkinson’s (the disease) decide to be absolute idiots.

It was time to talk to Malfoy again. As much as she didn't want to, she knew she had to. She moped around the halls in search for him. The gang had finished up talking about an hour ago, and Y/N had procrastinated by sitting in her dorm doing quite literally nothing. She knew she couldn't put it off forever, especially when he had something that important to her.

She turned a corner and saw him walking in her direction with Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy Parkinson. She walked up to all of them sharply, ignoring their snickers.

"Crabs, Google, Parkinson's disease, a pleasure," she greeted sarcastically. Pansy scoffed dramatically and stomped her foot, barely making any impact with the ground. She grabbed Malfoy by the sleeve of his robes and dragged him with her. "I need to talk to you."

"Get your hands off of me!" he hissed, trying to rip himself from her grip. Too bad for him, she had a pretty strong grip.

"Relax, pretty boy, I just need to have a discussion with you. It'll only take a second," she mumbled. He reluctantly stopped writhing and let her drag him to the nearest abandoned classroom.

"What is it?" he asked impatiently. She smiled with narrowed eyes, jabbing her finger in his chest.

"You have something of mine," she gritted out. He avoided the insinuation and glared daggers at her.

"I see you're hanging around Diggory," he seethed. She raised a brow at him and felt her heart squeeze in anger.

"I see you're stalking me," she replied smoothly. He laughed humorlessly and slung his arms downward dramatically, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Not when you're all laughing so hard you're crying and making the biggest fucking scene in the Great Hall," he shot back. She stuck her tongue in her cheek to prevent herself from saying anything brash. How come every time she was around him they could never be civilized?

"First of all, don't think I didn't see you giving me those looks in the hallway when I first talked to Ced," she spoke sharply. "Second of all, him sitting with us _one time_ doesn't make it 'hanging out'. When else have you been stalking us?" His eyes were burning with a blistering flame, and his cheeks were tinged red from his pure resent toward her.

"So maybe I followed you around a little," he admitted harshly. Y/N scoffed and shook her head in disbelief. "I want you to know that he's not as good as he makes himself out to be, Y/L/N." She slowly nodded, looking him up and down as if he were mental.

"Uh huh," she mumbled slowly. "One hundred percent believe you." He stood closer to her and peered down at her, his icy blue eyes glinting in the pale light that hardly entered the room. She couldn't help but notice that he was a sight.

"Don't use sarcasm with me," he growled as his top lip curled defensively. She pressed closer herself, wanting to let him know that he wouldn't ever have the upper hand on her, she wouldn't let him.

"Then don't stalk me," she spoke through gritted teeth. His eyes darted all over her face, his brows furrowed in what she couldn't decide was concentration or anger.

"I'm only looking out for you," he spoke slowly, sounding as if it were the hardest thing in the world to say. She tilted her head slightly, making his eyes dart down to her lips and back up so quickly she almost didn't see it.

"Why?" she asked hesitantly. He seemed to not remember how to form words as he opened and closed his mouth a few times, then snapped his mouth shut and swallowed harshly. "Why are you doing that?" He huffed and went back to somewhat-glaring at her.

"Because little do you know, I care a little about my tutor since she's getting my damned grades up," he spat defensively, but it sounded more panicked than anything. "I don't want you getting all heartbroken and then skipping out on our meetings." She felt her eyes narrow suspiciously and a smirk grew on her face.

"Wait," she spoke slyly, "do you think I'm dating Ced?" His eyes seemed to lick with fire again at the mention of his name.

"You aren't?" he asked, his voice a mixture of frustration and confusion. She snorted and shook her head as she suppressed a large guffaw.

"No, you absolute nimwad!" she scolded him. "He's just my friend!" Malfoy seemed to deflate and remain angry still, making Y/N want to laugh even more.

"So, you aren't attracted to him?" Draco asked, sounding like he already knew the answer to his own question. Which, he most likely did. Y/N couldn't help that she was single and that Hogwarts was filled with fine ass men, it was inevitable!

"What's it to you?" she challenged as she crossed her arms, turning away from him slightly. His face dropped as he frowned.

"That's Y/N-eese for 'I want him to marry me,'" he drawled, sounding incredibly bored. She snorted a laugh and she thought she saw a small smile grace his lips for a second, but she was likely mistaken.

"Shut your trap," she mumbled. He sighed as he looked at the floor, then back up at the girl in front of him.

"Moral of the story, Y/N: Don't get too involved. He's not as good as you think. Seriously," he warned her. She actually wanted to listen to him, considering it was highly unlikely for Malfoy to warn her about anything. But, given that, it made it also likely for him to be pulling her leg.

"Malfoy, I think I'm starting to grow on you, aren't I?" still, she decided to provoke him. Because what's more fun that poking a bear with a stick only to lead it into a fire?

"If you mean grow annoying," he spoke with just as much boredom as before, "then yes." Her jaw dropped as she kicked his shin, and he yelped dramatically, when she only merely tapped him.

"You're no fun," she sighed as she tapped her foot. He scoffed as he tilted his chin in the air, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Not you thinking you're any more fun than I am," he dismissed her. She watched as he began walking out of the classroom, and she followed him in shock.

"DID YOU JUST USE A 'NOT YOU...' PHRASE ON ME?" she shouted after him, but he ignored her. "DRACO MALFOY! DON'T YOU DARE IGNORE ME!" He finally spun around, stuck his finger on her chest, pretty much right on her left collarbone.

"I didn't say _shit_ ," he threatened her emptily with a small smile he was failing to hide, then he spun back around, his robes billowing, which reminded her awfully of Professor Snape. He stalked off down the halls, she suspected to go find his posse.

"No fucking way," she groaned as she face palmed. "Not _again_ , not again!" She stomped around in the hallway, angry that she still didn't get the damn hair clip. It was the whole reason she had even looked for him!

_Damn you, Draco Malfoy._

_Damn you._


End file.
